The international movement Tournons La Page (TLP), its Niger branch (TLP-Niger), ROTAB/Publish What You Pay Niger and Alternative Espaces Citoyens are asking the Public Prosecutor of the Tribunal de Grande Instance Hors Classe de Niamey to open an investigation for misappropriation of public property, bribery of national public officials, corruption in the private sector, influence peddling and forgery and use of falsified documents, in the so-called "MDN Gate" case. The complaint filed by their lawyer is against X and any other person who participated as perpetrator and/or accomplice in the commission of these events in Niger between 2017 and 2019.
In February 2020, an audit of Niger's Ministry of National Defense reported in the press revealed that hundreds of billions of CFA francs were allegedly embezzled within this institution between 2017 and 2019 in the context of the awarding of various public contracts. The audit revealed false orders, real orders for defective and unusable equipment, imaginary maintenance services or over-invoicing in purchases of equipment for the army, and named various individuals close to the ruling party.
Following this audit, the government of Niger announced in a press release that it would seek reimbursement of the amounts unduly received, thus excluding independant investigation and prosecution from justice. Some suppliers and intermediaries then resorted to this arbitration, but following pressure from the National Commission on Human Rights and civil society organizations, a case for 71.8 billion CFA francs was nevertheless transmitted to the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Niger in April 2020. To date, there has been no public follow-up to this case.
This case occurred in a deteriorating security context, as sadly recalled by the killings of Inates, Chinagodar and Kouré, which have impacted the lives of many Nigeriens and have hurt many military and civilian families. The revelation of such mismanagement in one of the poorest countries in the world further reinforces the lack of confidence of the population in public administration.
Let us recall that it was for publicly denouncing this affair, during a public meeting repressed by the police (resulting in at least 3 lethal casualties), that several members of our organizations were arrested for more than six months, between March and September 2020.
Press Contacts :
Ali IDRISSA - ROTAB Coordinator: +227 96 47 10 57 / alidrissanani@yahoo.fr
Maikoul ZODI - Coordinator of TLP-Niger: +227 92 68 68 / maikoulz@yahoo.fr
Moussa TCHANGARI - Secretary General of Alternatives Espaces Citoyens: +227 96 97 84 90 / Tchangari@gmail.com
Me Elise LE GALL - Lawyer at the Paris Bar : + 33 1 40 05 50 83 / cabinet@le-gall-avocat.com