Niger's coup leaders that toppled Mohamed Bazoum said late Sunday they would prosecute the deposed president for high treason and undermining the security of the country. The regime said, it had gathered evidence that it would use to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international bodies for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger. According to a statement read out by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane on national television, Niger’s military has said it will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for treason, hours after a group of senior Islamic scholars said the country’s coup leaders open to diplomacy to resolve their standoff with West Africa’s regional bloc.

Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official residence in Niamey since the coup on 26th July, with international concern mounting over their conditions in detention. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called for Bazoum’s reinstatement, imposing severe economic sanctions on Niger and threatening military intervention if civilian rule is not restored. Still, the West African bloc, which has approved the deployment of a standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger, has said it remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The spokesman for Niger’s military, Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, in his statement on Sunday, dismissed concerns over Bazoum’s health, saying the deposed leader had seen his doctor the previous day.