Bazoum Still Held Hostage as ECOWAS Ultimatum Comes To End

Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, Niger’s ousted Premier, expressed in a media appearance his ambition to overturn the military coup and reinstate the democratically elected president. ECOWAS defense leaders have purportedly devised a military action plan to free President Mohamed Bazoum, who is being held hostage.
“We are still hopeful,” said Mahamadou, who was visiting Rome at the time of the coup. “We expect that President Bazoum will be released and reinstated, and that all allegedly dissolved institutions will be fully restored.”
When asked about the circumstances surrounding the detention of Bazoum, Mahamadou said he made contact with him. “He is doing well as a political prisoner, sequestered, without water, without electricity.” He also said that ECOWAS intervention might be the only way to change that.
ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs Abdel-Fatau Musah has not provided a timeline or an intervention plan after the ultimatum expiry. He stated that all resources have been deployed for the military intervention.
Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso are pressuring ECOWAS to back off, threatening that any reckless move could trigger a much larger response.