20101017
africanews

The former number two of Niger's ruling military regime, Colonel Abdoulaye Badie, and another officer are reportedly being held after they plot to destabilize the regime. They were also alleged to have planned to eliminate the leader of the West African nation.

According to AFP, an unnamed security source said Badie and Lieutenant Colonel Abdou Sidikou were arrested on Friday after several weeks of surveillance and investigations. It attributed the source to have said the aim was to delay the transition to civilian rule and that there had been long-running divisions within the junta on the length of this period.

"They are accused of attempting to destabilize the regime, a plot they had been hatching for three months," he said. The project was to go so far as to eliminate," the AFP quoted the head of the junta, General Salou Djibo as saying on Saturday.

Badie was permanent secretary to Salou Djibo, leader of the coup that overthrew Niger's civilian president Mamadou Tandja in February. The junta leader abolished the post last weekend.

The junta has pledged to hand power to a democratically-elected civilian government in a transitional process due to kick off on October 31, with a presidential election on January 31, 2011.