The palace in Niamey: a climate of fear and regret
Does he ever miss the days when he was simply the head of the presidential guard, working in the shadows without a care? Today in Niamey, the atmosphere inside the presidential palace has become suffocating. A little over three years after the July 2023 coup, General Abdourahamane Tiani is confronting a painful truth: seizing power by force was a monumental mistake, and his life now hangs in the balance.
Far from the grand speeches about national sovereignty, the head of the military junta finds himself caught in a trap built by his own army.
After the late-August mutiny, the constant fear of assassination
The night of 28 to 29 August 2026 changed everything for General Tiani. That evening, rebellious soldiers from several garrisons attacked the air base and advanced dangerously close to the presidential palace. Saved at the last moment by the rapid intervention of Russian Africa Corps mercenaries, the president has since lived in permanent dread of being killed.
His fear for his life is no longer a secret. Tiani barely ventures out, his trips are cancelled, and he remains holed up in a bunker, protected by foreign guards and a handful of soldiers he still trusts.
The costly mistake of dismissing General Barmou
In an attempt to regain control, Tiani took a highly risky decision in September 2026: he dismissed General Moussa Salaou Barmou, the chief of defence staff and a key figure in the 2023 coup. Barmou was subsequently placed under house arrest.
But the move backfired. General Barmou is widely liked and respected by elite troops. His removal was seen as a betrayal within the barracks. According to multiple sources, officers have sent real ultimatums to the authorities: they demand an end to arrests within the army and threaten a mass uprising if the president continues his witch hunt.
A leader isolated and threatened by his own soldiers
A former security specialist, Tiani knows exactly how a coup works. He understands that the greatest danger no longer comes from terrorist groups at the borders, but from his own soldiers.
That is the irony of the situation: toppling a civilian president in 2023 was easy, but running the country with the constant fear of being shot by his own army has become a living hell. Today, General Tiani is no longer really trying to govern Niger: he is above all trying to survive.
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