Niger police arrest former premier on graft charges
30 Jul 2010 10:42
NIAMEY, July 30 (Reuters) - Niger police arrested a former prime minister close to toppled president Mamadou Tandja on graft charges, security sources in the West African nation said late on Thursday.
Niger's ruling military junta, which ousted Tandja in a February coup, is pursuing an aggressive anti-corruption agenda broadly supported by Nigeriens but that worries donor nations eager for a transition back to civilian rule in the uranium producer.
"Security forces have detained Seini Oumarou," said a police official, adding that Niger's anti-corruption commission formed by the junta in May has accused him of embezzling 270 million CFA francs ($537,100) of public funds.
The junta this month gave its anti-graft unit special powers to seize the money and property of its suspects before trial.
Oumarou, Niger's prime minister from May 2007 to August 2009, headed Tandja's political party and also served as the president of parliament until Tandja's overthrow in February.
The junta's clean-up effort has been well received by Nigeriens who felt Tandja's regime was corrupt, but some diplomats have said they are concerned it could stall or complicate elections planned for next year.
The military rulers, headed by General Djibo Salou, promised to leave power within 12 months of their Feb. 18 coup, but a source in the election commission said this week the handover could be delayed a month by technical issues.
Tandja, 72, was ousted and detained by a faction of his army after he drew international sanctions and domestic ire for amending the constitution to extend his rule and broaden his powers. He has asked the junta to spare him criminal proceedings due to his ill health, but the junta has not responded.
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, despite having attracted billions of dollars of investment in its uranium and oil industries, mainly from France and China.
Police have also arrested a former trade minister and secretary general for the trade ministry, sources said.
(Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Elizabeth Fullerton)
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