Family members and close acquaintances reported on Tuesday that Mahaman Moustapha Barke, the former minister of petroleum for Niger, had been freed from custody nearly a year after being detained by the military government.
Barke was freed earlier in the day, according to a relative who spoke on condition of anonymity for security concerns. According to Daily Post, the development was independently confirmed by a former assistant to the former minister.
In 2023, after the civilian government was overthrown in a coup just weeks earlier, Barke was named minister of petroleum by the new military forces in Niger. Later on, he was detained for reasons that were never formally disclosed.
Due to the lack of a statement from the military leadership, neither the grounds for his imprisonment nor the terms of his release have been made public.
Human rights organizations have been criticizing Niger’s junta for allegedly suppressing journalists, political opponents, and other dissident voices ever since it came to power.
In the meantime, Hamadou Tinni was named the new Minister of Petroleum by the government on Tuesday. He takes over for Sahabi Oumarou, who took over in 2024 after Barke was removed.
