FIJ
Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s President, was removed from power after a group of soldiers from the country staged a coup on Wednesday.
Reports revealed that the military first barricaded the presidential palace prior to announcing on television that they had taken control of the country.
The soldiers cited the country’s deteriorating security situation and bad governance as the rationale behind the coup.
Niger has now joined the growing list of West African countries where a coup successfully took place in recent years. Below are some of these countries and the reasons for the coup.
MALI (2020 & 2021)
In August 2020, Mali witnessed a military coup amid widespread protests calling for the resignation of then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on the grounds of corruption, political instability and worsening security.
The military government eventually agreed to transmit power to a civilian-led interim government. But the leaders of the coup would later clash with the interim government, leading to a second coup in May 2021.
GUINEA (2021)
On September 5, 2021, a coup d’état took place in Guinea after the country’s armed forces captured President Alpha Condé.
The coup occurred because Condé amended the constitution to extend his stay in power beyond two terms. He won a controversial third term in an election marred by violence and alleged irregularities in October 2020.
This election gave rise to pockets of protests in the country, and more than over 400 political opponents of the president were imprisoned. In 2021, a Guinean special forces unit led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya stormed the presidential palace in the capital city, detained the president and suspended the constitution.
BURKINA FASO (TWICE IN 2022)
Roch Kabore, the President of Burkina Faso, was removed from power on January 24, 2022, following a coup led by Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba.
Damiba justified the coup by citing Kaboré’s perceived inability to address the escalating jihadist insurgency, which had resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and the displacement of over a million people.
