Niger, 2010 — military coup

Event Summary

On 18 February 2010 soldiers in Niger stormed the presidential palace in Niamey during a cabinet meeting and captured President Mamadou Tandja, ending a year long crisis over his refusal to leave office. Tandja, in power since 1999, had reached the end of his second and final term in December 2009 but had engineered a way to stay: in 2009 he dissolved the National Assembly, replaced the Constitutional Court after it ruled against him, and pushed through a referendum that scrapped term limits and extended his mandate by three years, moves that opponents and regional bodies called a constitutional coup. The military assault at midday, involving several hours of gunfire that killed at least three soldiers, seized Tandja and several ministers.

That evening the plotters announced the formation of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy under squadron leader Salou Djibo, suspending the constitution, dissolving state institutions, closing the borders, and imposing a curfew. Thousands rallied in support over the following days. The juntai detained Tandja and, keeping its promise, organized a new constitution and elections that brought opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou to the presidency in April 2011.

Tandja was held in detention, later moved to a civil prison, and was freed in May 2011 after a court quashed the proceedings against him.