Coup Atlas Research Database
← Back to explorer
43608021975ConspiracyMilitary coup

Niger, 1975 — military coup conspiracy

Niger (NER)West Africa, AfricaAugust 2, 1975

Event Summary

This entry is coded 2 August 1975, corresponding to the arrest of Major Sani Souna Sido, vice-president of the ruling Supreme Military Council, on charges of plotting against Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountche in Niger. Kountche had seized power in the largely bloodless April 1974 coup that overthrew the fourteen-year rule of Niger's first president, Hamani Diori, and established the CMS to distribute drought relief fairly and restore order. Sido, popular among army troops, had been appointed vice-president of the CMS and minister of interior in Kountche's cabinet, but friction and competition between the two men grew, and by the end of 1974 Sido had been stripped of his other duties and demoted.

On 2 August 1975 he was accused of planning a military rebellion against Kountche and arrested. He died in Agadez in June 1977. The arrest prompted Kountche to appoint a majority of civilians to his cabinet.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Kountche survived and consolidated power, ruling Niger until his death in 1987; Sido was arrested and died in 1977
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountche (CMS president, target)
Major Sani Souna Sido (CMS vice-president, arrested plotter)
Supreme Military Council (the ruling junta)

Sources

Sido was accused on 2 August 1975 of plotting against Kountche and was arrested; he died in Agadez in June 1977.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Sani Souna Sido open source ↗
Major Sani Souna Sido, the vice-chairman of the SMC, was arrested for planning a military rebellion on 2 August 1975.
SOURCE REVIEWED University of Central Arkansas: Niger (1960-present) open source ↗
In August 1975 Major Sani Souna Sido attempted a coup against Seyni Kountche and was executed, a development that prompted Kountche to appoint a majority of civilians to his cabinet.
SOURCE REVIEWED THISDAYLIVE: PBAT's ECOWAS Threats and the Failed Coup in Niger open source ↗
Friction and competition between Kountche and Sido grew, and by the end of 1974 Sido was stripped of his other military duties and demoted from the ministry of interior.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Sani Souna Sido open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 2 Aug 1975 matches exactly the date of Sido's arrest for plotting against Kountche. Verified, exact date. Sources differ on whether Sido was executed or died in detention in 1977; entry frames the arrest per the most specific sources. First Niger record in the run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
43608021975

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Kountche survived and consolidated power, ruling Niger until his death in 1987; Sido was arrested and died in 1977.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Luttwak

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wikipedia

New York Times

“World News Briefs,” August 3, 1975

South China Morning Post

“Coup in Niger Foiled,” August 3, 1975

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

Know something about this event?
Tips are reviewed against sources before anything is added.