In the aftermath of the democratically elected president was overthrown in coups, Niger joined other African nations that currently have military administrations.
Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and other West African countries like Chad all have military governments.
Up until late in the evening, when 10 soldiers appeared on television and declared that president Mohamed Bazoum had been overthrown, there remained ambiguity after a group of Nigerian troops began what appeared to be a coup.
Later on Thursday, a general by the name of Omar Tchiani, also known as Abdourahmane Tchiani, was chosen to lead the new junta.
Here are five things we know about him – Courtesy the BBC
a. Gen Tchiani, 62, has been at the helm of the presidential guard since 2011
b. The 700-strong force was established by the ousted president’s predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou to guard against military takeovers
c. He was linked a 2015 coup attempt against Mr Issoufou. A subsequent court case in 2018 cleared him of involvement
d. He was promoted to the rank of general in 2018 by Mr Issoufou
e. Before the military takeover, President Bazoum had planned on removing the general as part of changes he had been making to the security forces, Niger’s private L’Enqueteur newspaper reports.
