Relatives of Niger’s ousted president Mohamed Bazoum said on Thursday they had heard no news of him since October 18, denouncing the “abusive arrests and searches” endured by some of them.
Since he was toppled by the military on July 26, Bazoum has been held at his residence in the heart of the presidential palace along with his wife and son.
Despite ongoing calls for his release by numerous countries and organizations, Niger’s new military regime is unrelenting.
“Since October 18, we have had no news of President Bazoum, his wife Khadija Mabrouk and their son Salem, who have been taken hostage by the presidential guard,” his family members said in a statement.
“Several members of our family have been subjected to abusive arrests and searches by military authorities,” it added.
The family’s lawyer, Ould Salem Said, told reporters that “we have noticed a certain fixation on President Bazoum’s family.”
The homes of one of Bazoum’s nieces and that of another relative were searched on Tuesday in the capital Niamey, according to Said.
The lawyer said that “unidentified armed elements kidnapped” an uncle of Bazoum on Sunday, adding that he had launched a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office for “kidnapping, sequestration and arbitrary detention.”
Said also said the brother of Bazoum’s wife “was arrested” in the south of the country and “placed in police custody.”
Military leaders, headed by General Abdourahamane Tiani, have ruled Niger since July 26.
The regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has since imposed heavy sanctions on Niger and warned that it could intervene militarily if diplomatic efforts to return Mohamed Bazoum to power fail.
