Abdourahamane Tchiani
General Abdourahamane Tchiani (also known as Omar Tchiani - several first names have been attributed to him), the head of Niger’s presidential guard, was declared the country’s new leader, two days after the guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and announced it had seized power. As Tchiani spoke on Niger state television 28 July 2023, a statement identified him as the head of the “National Council for Safeguarding the Country.” Tchiani said soldiers ousted Bazoum because of deteriorating security in the West African country, which is fighting an Islamist militant insurgency.
"The National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland reaffirms its desire to respect all international commitments" , declared the general, before continuing: "The council, through my voice, asks the partners and friends of Niger, at this stage crucial to the life of our country, to trust our defense and security forces, guarantors of national unity, territorial integrity and the higher interests of our nation.»
"The action of the CNSP is motivated by the sole desire to preserve our dear homeland in the face, on the one hand, of the continuous deterioration of the security situation in our country - and this without the deposed authorities giving us a glimpse of a real solution. way out of the crisis - on the other hand, poor economic and social governance ", declared General Tchiani.
He assured that " the current security approach has not made it possible to secure the country despite the heavy sacrifices made by Nigeriens and the appreciable and appreciated support of our external partners... No, the results do not meet the expectations of Nigeriens; no, we can no longer continue with the same approaches proposed so far at the risk of witnessing the gradual and inevitable disappearance of our country. This is why we have decided to intervene and take our responsibilities."
"There is, however, the harsh reality of insecurity in Niger, as it is experienced by our FDS and our hard-working populations with its share of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration", noted the General Tchiani for whom "the deadly and traumatic attacks of Bosso, Inatès, Chinagoder, Anzourou, Bakorat and others, sufficiently remind us, in our flesh and in our soul, of this daily reality".
Consequently, "we must, in all humility and sincerity, ask the questions: whether the current management of the security issue in Niger has made it possible to guarantee our security, that of our families, of our villages and our country, And if we can continue like this with the same approach, the same players and the same results," asked the president of the CNSP. To this question, the CNSP answers in the negative. "We answer emphatically in the negative" responded General Tchiani.
For this, "It is up to all of us, each Nigerien and each Nigerien, to respond to it bearing in mind his own survival and the sole interests of Niger'' he recommended before noting that "the current security approach has not made it possible to secure our country despite the heavy sacrifices made by Nigeriens and the appreciable and appreciated support of our external partners".
"The results do not meet the expectations of Nigeriens'' he continued before announcing that ''we can no longer continue with the same approaches proposed so far at the risk of witnessing the disappearance progressive and inevitable of our country. This is why we have decided to intervene and take our responsibilities, not without having, on several occasions, tried, while remaining in our role as military leader, to attract the attention of the highest fallen authorities. on the inconsistency and ineffectiveness of their political management of security issues in our country," he justified.
Niger has fared better in tackling armed groups than its neighbours, willing to both negotiate with them and attempt to solve the ethnic, political, and land-use issues that often drive violence. But speaking of inconsistency and inefficiency, Tchiani said "we must really question the meaning and scope of a security policy which consists in proceeding with the extrajudicial release of several terrorist leaders without any guarantee in the context which is ours, also on the meaning and scope of the recruitment and diversion for political purposes of several hundred FDS elements outside the traditional military framework and placing them directly under the sole authority of politicians," he suggested.
Tchiani then wondered about "the meaning and scope of the decision of a commander-in-chief who orders the release of heavily armed bandits caught in a theater of military operations on the sole ground that they would be "its allies", the remarks of a commander-in-chief of the armies who declares before the whole world that his soldiers who fight at the cost of their lives are "less strong and less hardened" than the terrorists, and also on the meaning and the scope "of a security approach to the fight against terrorism which excludes any real collaboration with Burkina Faso and Mali, even though we share with these two neighboring countries the area of Liptako Gourma in which the essential part of the terrorist activities we are fighting".
General Tchiani continued by asking " technical and financial partners and friends of Niger to understand the specific situation of our country to provide it with all the necessary support, in order to enable it to meet the challenges".
Although the world did not know the reason for the insurrection, several sources spoke of the desire of the current head of state to reorganise his security apparatus which involves removing his dependence on General Tchiani and his presidential guards. For two years, a false decree stating his replacement by General Mohamed Toumba had been circulating on social media platforms.
The West African state is one of the region’s most unstable. If successful, the coup would be the fifth military takeover since the country won independence from France in 1960. The July 26 military coup plunged the Sahel into confusion after similar takeovers in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. He scuttled the first peaceful and democratic transition the country had experienced since its 1960 independence.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Bazoum, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told Agence France-Presse. According to Colonna, Macron said Bazoum is "reachable" and "in good health." In a message posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Bazoum said democracy would prevail in his country. “The hard-won gains will be safeguarded,” he said. “All Nigeriens who love democracy and freedom would want this.” Leaders of Niger’s army declared their support for the overthrow of Bazoum, defying calls from across the globe condemning the takeover and for respect of the rule of law and the country’s democratic order.
Abdel Fatau Musah, commissioner for political affairs and security of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, told VOA’s James Butty, "Bazoum remains the legitimate and legal president and must be reinstated as soon as possible." Musah said, "The heads of state of the region will hold an extraordinary summit, an emergency summit, on the situation over the weekend to determine what measures to take to ensure the reinstatement."
ECOWAS has condemned the events in Niger and called on what it described as coup plotters to free the president "immediately and without any condition." The ECOWAS statement vowed to hold those involved in the plot responsible for the safety of the president, his family, members of the government and the general public.
Others condemning the apparent coup attempt included the chairman of the African Union commission, Faki Mahamat, and former colonial power France, which has about 1,500 soldiers in Niger helping the government battle Islamist militants.
Gen Tchiani had controlled the presidential guard since 2011 and was promoted to the rank of general in 2018 by former President Mahamadou Issoufou. The predecessor to Bazoum, Issoufou established the guard to protect against against military takeovers. The guard consists of about 700 [possibly as many as 2,000] well-equipped men, as well as around 20 armored vehicles. A government official said Tiani, under Issoufou's orders, had "transformed the presidential guard into a powerful machine equipped with sophisticated weapons". Although he wasn’t present when the putschist officers read their statement on state TV when they confirmed the coup, it had been rumored that Tchiani would be the incoming junta leader.
Tchiani is a confidant of former President Mahamadou Issoufou, the predecessor of President Bazoum. Bazoum himself served alongside Tchiani as the he had served as Issoufou's foreign minister and then interior minister. Bazoum was elected president in a runoff in February 2021 and took over from Issoufou two months later in the first ever peaceful transition of power in the country since 1960. The presidential guard had, in the past, served as a springboard for some officers to seize power. Ibrahim Baré Mainassara who led Niger from January 1996 to April 1999 and his killer following his physical elimination on the airport tarmac in the capital, Niamey, Daouda Malam Wanké, had all led the presidential guard. Mahamane Ousmane was overthrown on January 27, 1996, by Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara. This junta leader was in turn be assassinated during the coup of April 9, 1999 led by Commander Daouda Malam Wanké, head of the presidential guard.
Tchiani was also linked to one coup attempt in 2015 against Issoufou, and appeared in court in 2018 wia to deny the allegations. President Bazoum had retained the presidential guard, including Tchiani, which stopped another coup attempt in 2021. The scheduled 02 April 2-21 inauguration of Mohamed Bazoum was clouded in uncertainty until the energetic intervention of the presidential guard helped him assume office. It is this same unit whose leader eventually turned against the president.
Before the 2023 coup happened, Bazoum had planned to remove the general as part of changes he was making to the security forces. In April 2023, Bazoum replaced the high commander of the national gendarme and the chief of staff of the armed forces. These moves are traced as a cause of the mistrust from the security forces.
He had served in missions by the United Nations and West African regional bloc ECOWAS in Ivory Coast as well as in Sudan. Tchiani was the first officer on site when a French flight crashed near Bilma in northern Niger in 1989 due to a suitcase bomb explosion. All 170 people on board died. A former military attache at Niger’s embassy in Germany, he also previously led a battalion in Agadez, once seen as the world’s smuggling capital, regularly leading operations in the Niger desert against traffickers.
Tchiani, born in 1961, had served in charge of the presidential guard since 2011. He was promoted to the rank of general for 2018 by former president Issoufou. His name had been mentioned frequently by the media in Niger over the years as having had a hand in the 2015 coup attempt but the subsequent court case in 2018 cleared him of the involvement.
Information on General Tchiani is almost non-existent. There is no information on his personal life, education or early military career. Possibly he is married to Tchousso Rahamatou Oumarou Tchiani.
Tchiani is from Tillabéri in western Niger, the main recruiting area for the Nigerian army. [On the territory of Tillaberi is the capital of the country Niamey].Tiani is originally from Filingue, an arid zone about 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of the capital Niamey. Filingue lies in the volatile Tillaberi region which has been repeatedly attacked for nearly eight years by insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as jihadists from neighbouring Nigeria. The vast area, roughly the size of South Korea, has around 150,000 internally displaced people, according to the United Nations.
Tiani's critics say he is a controversial figure but those close to him describe him as "brave" and "popular"."General Tiani is an officer who has proven himself on the ground," said former soldier Amadou Bounty Diallo. "How could he have led his men in the putsch if they didn't have confidence in him?" said Issa Abdou, a figure in civil society.
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