Among the approximately forty university professors who denounced their union’s support for the junta, seven who hold positions of responsibility within the administration have been suspended as a reprisal.
Following the military’s forcible seizure of power in Niger, the executive board of the National Union of University Professors and Researchers (SNECS) expressed its support for the junta that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, 2023. This stance was denounced by 37 academics who declared that “the union did not consult any base.”
The anti-coup academics, through a letter, demanded that the union reconsider its position by condemning the coup and calling for the release of the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. However, apparently highly sensitive to anti-coup positions, the military authorities suspended seven professors who hold positions of responsibility within the administration, including the rectors of the universities of Agadez and Zinder, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
According to our source, in an attempt to intimidate the professors who reject the coup, some were summoned and questioned by the gendarmerie, and others by the judicial police. Given the turn of events, the National Union of University Professors held a meeting of its extended executive board on Thursday (August 24th).
