Lawyers in Niger will stage a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday to protest against the military government’s dissolution of the country’s justice unions.
The bar association accuses the junta, which took power in a July 2023 coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel nation, of undermining judicial independence.
Last week, Interior Minister General Mohamed Toumba disbanded five judicial unions. Justice Minister Alio Daouda defended the move, claiming the unions were “dragging everyone down” and “promoting personal interests.”
On Tuesday, the bar condemned the decision and demanded the “immediate and unconditional” reinstatement of the unions. It warned that the dissolution sought to silence those charged with safeguarding judicial independence.
The Autonomous Syndicate of the Magistrates of Niger (SAMAN), one of the most influential unions, said on Wednesday it had lodged appeals against what it called the interior minister’s “nefarious decree,” adding: “Justice must not be held hostage by any power.”
The junta has already dissolved three other unions—one for border guards and two for workers in the water and forestry sectors—whose members have been redeployed to fight Niger’s long-running jihadist insurgency.
Armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have launched regular attacks in Niger for over a decade, with the junta struggling to contain the violence.