President Mahamadou Issoufou said on national television on Thursday, 17 December that his government had averted an attempted coup d’état.

It has now been disclosed that four senior military officers were arrested and taken into custody on 15 December. They included the former military chief of staff, General Souleymane Salou, and Lieutenant-Colonel Dan Haoua, head of the air force base in the capital Niamey.

In his TV address, Issoufou called the coup attempt high treason and said the situation was under control and all the main actors had been arrested, except one person who had fled. Issoufou said the objective of the individuals was ‘to overthrow the democratically elected power.’ He also said: ‘They envisaged using aerial firepower and they have for some weeks deliberately blocked (those military assets) in Niamey that I was pressing them to send to Diffa to the front for the struggle against Boko Haram.’

Political tension is currently high, ahead of a presidential election scheduled for 21 February. Although the media sees Issoufou as a clear favourite, there is strengthening opposition to his rule. But, as we report in this issue, his economic record may damage his chances.

The opposition has recently been accusing Issoufou and his government of using repressive tactics ahead of the vote. Whether these military leaders were planning a coup, or whether their arrest is part of the ‘dirty tricks’ that we have suggested in this issue that President Issoufou might revert to, is not yet clear.