General Abdourahmane Tchiani took to state TV on Friday and identified him as the leader of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, the group of Nigerian soldiers who days earlier announced the removal from power of President Mohamed Bazoum.
The general, who also goes by Omar, said the country needed to change course to avoid “the gradual and inevitable demise” and thus he and others had decided to intervene.
Who is Tchiani?
General Tchiani is the commander of Niger’s presidential guards. Many media reports had highlighted him as the leader of the coup, after members of the unit on Wednesday detained President Bazoum in the presidential palace.
The 62-year-old general has been in charge of the presidential guard since 2011 and was promoted to the rank of a general in 2018 by former president Mahamadou Issoufou.
Ironically, the presidential guard was formed to shield presidents against coups.
It is not the first time Tchiani has been linked to a military takeover. He was accused of being among the plotters of a 2015 coup attempt against Mr Issoufou but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
President Bazoum has not been seen in public since Wednesday but has held phone talks with US secretary of state and French President Emmanuel Macron. He said that he was "reachable" and "in good health", according to the French foreign minister.
What does the junta leader want?
Appearing on state television on Friday, Gen Tchiani said that soldiers seized power due to what he termed as the worsening situation in the country.
He said the country needed to change course to avoid “the gradual and inevitable demise” and thus he and others had decided to intervene.
“I ask the technical and financial partners who are friends of Niger to understand the specific situation of our country in order to provide it with all the support necessary to enable it to meet the challenges,” he said.
The European Union has responded to the plea by threatening to cut aid to the country. "Any breakdown in the constitutional order will have consequences for cooperation between the EU and Niger, including the immediate suspension of all budgetary support," a statement from the 27-nation bloc said.
