Niger’s former president Mamadou Tandja, ousted from power in 2010 after attempting to stay on beyond a two-term limit, has died, the government in capital Niamey said Tuesday.
He was 82.
In a statement read out on public television, serving President Mahamadou Issoufou’s office said the 82-year-old’s death would be marked by “three days of mourning throughout the national territory”.
From 1999, Tandja headed a civilian government that replaced a short-lived military junta.
But after he changed the constitution in a bid to cling on to power 10 years later, he was toppled by the army in February 2010, paving the way for Issoufou to claim the presidency in a 2011 election.
Quality journalism cost a lot of money and work input. Yet it ensures the possibility of a fed society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to one of the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask you to consider making modest support to this noble endeavour.
