International
Niger Generals Vow To Prosecute Ousted President For ‘High Treason’
Niger’s military regime vowed late Sunday to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and slammed West African leaders for imposing sanctions on the country.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on Niger in response to the coup and has not ruled out using force against the army officers who toppled the democratically elected Bazoum on July 26.
The West African bloc has approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger as soon as possible but remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Niger’s military leaders said they would prosecute Bazoum “for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger”, according to a statement read out by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane on national television.
Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official Niamey residence since the coup, with international concern mounting over his conditions in detention.
A member of his entourage said he saw his doctor on Saturday.
“After this visit, the doctor raised no problems regarding the state of health of the deposed president and members of his family,” the military said.
They also said sanctions imposed on Niger had made it difficult for people to access medicines, food and electricity, and were “illegal, inhumane and humiliating”.
– ‘Open to diplomacy’ –
The comments came just hours after religious mediators met with coup leader General Abdourahamane Tiani, who indicated his regime was open to a diplomatic breakthrough.
Tiani “said their doors were open to explore diplomacy and peace in resolving the matter”, said Sheikh Bala Lau, a day after his Nigerian Muslim delegation held talks in the capital Niamey.
Tiani “claimed the coup was well intended” and that the plotters “struck to stave off an imminent threat that would have affected” Nigeria as well as Niger, according to Lau’s statement.
But Tiani said it was “painful” that ECOWAS had issued an ultimatum to restore Bazoum without hearing “their side of the matter”, the statement added.
The Muslim leaders visited Niamey with the blessing of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who is also head of ECOWAS.
Tinubu has adopted a firm stance against the coup, the sixth to hit an ECOWAS member state since 2020.
The bloc has severed financial transactions and electricity supplies and closed borders with landlocked Niger, blocking much-needed imports to one of the world’s poorest countries.
On July 30, it issued a seven-day ultimatum to restore Bazoum or face the potential use of force, but the deadline expired without the new rulers backing down.
The bloc scrapped a Saturday crisis meeting on the coup due to be held in Ghana’s capital Accra for “technical reasons”.
Demonstrations in favour of the new military rulers have become a common sight in Niamey.
Thousands of people attended concerts on Sunday at the Seyni Kountche Stadium in support of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), the generals who have taken power. The crowd, mainly made up of young people, brandished the flags of Niger as well as those of Burkina Faso, Mali and Russia.
The prospect of a military intervention to reinstate Bazoum has divided ECOWAS members and drawn warnings from foreign powers including Russia and Algeria.
Niger’s neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by military governments who seized power in coups, have said an intervention would be tantamount to a declaration of war on them.
AFP
A United States federal high court has sentenced a 38-year-old Nigerian, Kingsley Utulu, to five years and three months in prison for orchestrating a major identity theft and wire fraud scheme that defrauded the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and private citizens of over $2.5 million.
According to reports, the conviction was announced by Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher Raia, FBI Assistant Director in New York. Utulu was charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to Clayton, Utulu and his co-conspirators hacked into U.S.-based tax preparation services, stole personal information, and used it to file fraudulent tax returns and extract funds.
The FBI stressed that geography offers no protection for cybercriminals, reaffirming its global reach in tackling fraud.
Utulu was arrested in the United Kingdom and later extradited to the United States.
Along with his sentence, he was ordered to pay $3.68 million in restitution and forfeit $290,250 in proceeds from the crime.
His sentencing follows the recent convictions of two other Nigerians—Abel Daramola and Olutayo Ogunlaja—linked to an international romance scam that stole over $560,000. Both face up to 20 years in federal prison.
This wave of convictions highlights growing scrutiny and action against transnational cybercrime rings involving Nigerian nationals and other foreign actors targeting U.S. citizens and institutions.
The Republic of Ireland has deported no fewer than 35 Nigerians, including five children, to Nigeria in a chartered flight that departed from Dublin Airport on Wednesday night.
According to the Irish Mirror, the returnees, comprising 21 men, nine women, and five children, landed in Nigeria on Thursday.
Irish Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said he was “happy to say” that all of them returned to Nigeria despite an unscheduled stopover due to a medical incident on board.
While the Irish government did not give a specific reason for the deportation of the Nigerian nationals, O’Callaghan only said, “Ireland has a rules-based immigration system. It is important that those rules are robust and enforced.
”However, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said it was not aware of the deportation of the Nigerians by Ireland on Thursday.
The NiDCOM spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, made this known on Thursday.
US President, Donald Trump has signed a new proclamation barring citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, citing national security concerns.
The full travel ban affects nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The restriction will take effect on June 9, 2025.
In addition to the full bans, the proclamation imposes partial restrictions on citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
There are some exemptions, including athletes travelling for major sporting events, some Afghan nationals and dual nationals with citizenship in unaffected countries, according to the BBC.
Trump stated that the measure is intended to prevent individuals considered potential security risks from gaining entry into the US.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen,” he said in a video message posted on X on Wednesday.
According to the White House, the countries facing the harshest restrictions were deemed to have a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” poor cooperation on visa-related security measures, and inadequate systems for verifying travelers’ identities.
The administration also cited issues such as poor record-keeping of criminal histories and high visa overstay rates as contributing factors.
The new directive builds on Trump’s broader immigration crackdown initiated at the beginning of his second term.
On January 20, the president signed an executive order mandating stricter security checks for foreign nationals and instructing federal agencies to review which countries should face entry suspensions due to inadequate vetting procedures.
This move echoes Trump’s controversial travel ban during his first term, which initially targeted seven predominantly Muslim countries and was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2018.
The ban was later repealed by President Joe Biden in 2021, who described it as “a stain on our national conscience.”
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