Niger: who is Abdurakhaman Chiani, the general at the head of the coup?

He is the new strong man of the country. Three days after the overthrow of President-elect Mohammed Bazum, who was held captive with his family in the presidential residence in the capital Niamey, General Abdurakhaman Chiani proclaimed himself this Friday “President of the National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland (CNPS)”, the junta that seized power. While France, in the voice of Emmanuel Macron, “denounced the military coup” in Niger in the strongest terms, the former head of the presidential guard justified it on national television by “deteriorating the security situation” in the country, undermined by the violence of jihadist groups.

Follower of ex-president Mahamadou Issoufou.

This soldier, from Filingue, in the northeast of the capital, aged around fifty, is believed to be loyal to ex-president Mahamadou Issouf, who appointed him chief of the presidential guard for two five-year terms starting in 2011. until 2021. Although he is a rather low-profile man, he has “dealt with the mysteries of power for ten years,” says Jenabou Cisse, a Sahel researcher at the Strategic Studies Foundation contacted by Le Parisien. “We don’t know him much outside of military circles, he doesn’t show himself in public. He is a man in the shadows, a powerful but not very coherent figure,” Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a researcher for the International Crisis Group, told AFP.

After foiling several coup attempts, in 2021 and 2022, according to the authorities, he was reappointed to his post by Mohamed Bazum, Issoufou the dolphin, then re-elected to the presidency. Abdurakhaman Chiani, however, had a bad relationship with the ousted president, according to relatives contacted by AFP. If the official reasons cited by the junta are security, “the coup would be linked to Mohamed Bazum’s desire to replace the general at the head of the command,” analyzes Jenaba Cisse. It is more connected with the conflict of people than with the real opposition of the authorities. »

“He has supporters and opponents”

The general’s name has generated controversy as it was mentioned in the failed 2015 coup case. Some of the arrested soldiers blamed Abdurahman Chiani. Since his guilt was never proven, the officer was officially untroubled by these allegations. He is also not unanimous in the army, according to Jeune Afrique, who claims that part of the military hierarchy would reproach him for his hastened rise under Mahamadou Issoufou and for dismissing a certain number of officers in the course of his career.

For Jenabou Cisse, “it is quite difficult to assess his reputation in the army. She explains that there are many internal divisions related to the organization of the armed forces and communal or ethnic differences. He has supporters and opponents. To date, the intentions of Abdurahman Chiani remain unclear, as well as the orientation of the CNSP.