Niger Lawyers to Strike Over Transitional Authorities’ Union-Bashing
Niger’s lawyers have announced a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday to protest the military government’s dissolution of the West African country’s justice unions.
The lawyers accuse the transitional authorities, which seized power in the terrorist-hit Sahel nation during a July 2023 coup, of undermining the independence of the justice system.
Last week, the transitional government’s Interior Minister, General Mohamed Toumba, dissolved five judicial unions. Justice Minister Alio Daouda defended this move, arguing that the syndicates were “dragging everyone down” by “promoting personal interests.”
On Tuesday, Niger’s bar association condemned the breakup of the unions, calling for their “immediate and unconditional re-establishment.”
“By announcing the dissolution of the judicial unions, the government aims to silence those who, through their mission, ensure the independence of the justice system,” the bar stated.
In a statement on Wednesday, one of the affected unions, the powerful Autonomous Syndicate of the Magistrates of Niger (SAMAN), revealed that it had “already filed appeals against the interior minister’s nefarious decree.”
“Justice must not be held hostage by any power,” the union insisted.
The transitional authorities had previously dissolved three other unions, including one for border guards and two for workers in the water and forestry sector.
The workers of those unions are among the officers who were called up to help combat terrorism in that Sahel country.
Terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State have been carrying out repeated attacks in Niger for more than a decade, while the government struggles to halt the spread of the terrorist tide.
