US President Joe Biden has called on the Nigerien military junta to immediately release the country’s legitimate head of state, Mohamed Bazoum.
He made this call Thursday while saying the people of Niger have the right to choose their leaders.
“The Nigerien people have the right to choose their leaders,” the US President said. “They have expressed their will through free and fair elections — and that must be respected.”
This is after the military junta ousted President Bazoum by his guard in a coup that has received condemnation from both the ECOWAS, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States.
First, a series of sanctions has been slapped on the country by ECOWAS following the coup, which had initially resulted in the closure of all land borders and airspaces. Thereafter, the regional bloc then handed a seven-day ultimatum to the military, in which they would be strongly advised to reinstate the democratically elected government before coercion could be compulsorily used to carry out more drastic actions, which may need not exclude the use of force.
Also, the African Union has given the junta a 15-day ultimatum to reinstate President Bazoum as the rightful leader of Niger.
Bazoum was elected as president of the country in 2021 in an exercise termed as the first peaceful transfer of power in Niger.
Before now, there have been four successful coups since the country attained independence from France in 1960.