1974 Nigerien coup d'état

The 1974 Nigerien coup d'état was a largely bloodless military insurrection which overthrew the first postcolonial government of Niger. The government that followed, while plagued by coup attempts of its own, survived until 1991.

The Sahel drought of 1968–72 had aggravated existing tensions in the single party government of the ruling PPN. Widespread civil disorder followed allegations that some government ministers were misappropriating stocks of food aid and accused President Hamani Diori of consolidating power. Diori limited cabinet appointments to fellow Djerma, family members, and close friends. In addition, he acquired new powers by declaring himself the minister of foreign and defense affairs. Diori was the longest serving leader in the Organisation commune africaine, which he helped maintain, and he was well-known as the main international negotiator for francophone Africa.

Despite receiving warnings that Seyni Kountché was unreliable as early as 1973, Diori nonetheless promoted him to chief of staff. Besides the drought, the army resented being used for tax collection and other political activities. Shortly before the coup, the Nigerien government signed a mutual defense treaty with Libya which enraged army members. According to Kountché, over 3,000 tons of grain were held in a warehouse waiting for prices to rise, and when he brought the situation to Diori's attention, the president did nothing.

On 15 April 1974, Lieutenant-Colonel Seyni Kountché led a military coup that ended the fourteen-year rule of Diori. The military coup began at 1 AM on the morning of 15 April, with all but a handful of units quickly declaring for the coup leaders. The personal guard of President Hamani Diori, the all-Tuareg Guarde Republicain was the only unit to resist, under the orders of Diori's wife Aissa Diori. She and a small number of Guardsmen were killed at the presidential palace after dawn on 15 April. Diori, President of the National Assembly, Boubou Hama and several other P.P.N politicians in Niamey were arrested in the operation. Diori's regime was the twenty-fifth in Africa to fall to a coup d'etat in eleven years.

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