Garde Nationale du Niger

The Garde Nationale du Niger [National Guard of Niger] is a paramilitary formation of the Armed Forces of Niger under the control of the Ministry of Interior. It is headed by the superior commander of the national guard. The strength is variously estimated at from 2,500 to 3,200 troops. Weak or flawed governance and coups have plagued Niger since independence in 1960.

The National Guard was created in 1963 as the Republican Guard - Garde Republicaine (1963-1997) by President Diori Hamani. In 1974, a military coup overthrew President Hamani Diori. The proximate cause was Diori’s failure to effectively respond to massive food insecurity produced by an extended drought that had struck the country. Reflecting the Guard's loyalty to President Hamani, the Garde Republicaine put up a good fight against the 15 April 1974 coup by Seyni Kountche that toppled Diori.

Consequently, it was completely restructured following the 1974 to ensure loyalty to President Seyni Kountche. At that time, the guard was primarily responsible for the protection of the president. It was composed of elite soldiers, numberin about 2,000 troops trained by Moroccan officers. Initially under the command of Captain Moussa Hassane, it was as loyal to the new president as the old unit had been to the previous president.

Following the 1995 peace agreements between the government of Niger and the Touareg rebel groups, it was restructured and redesignated the "Forces Nationales d'Interventions and Securite (FNIS)". Ex-rebel members were integrated into this body under the terms of the peace agreements. It has been agreed that the integration of fighters must be terminated before the end of the (seventh) month in line with the 1997 budget. The quotas are as follows: republican guard, 50; customs, 45; national education, 50; and health, 30. Integration of soldiers into other state institutions would be effected at a pro rata basis of 30 per cent for the conventional group and 70 per cent for the army.

Nearly 200 combatants had already joined the army and were currently under training. In early November (1997), 600 others were expected to join the Saharan security unit, the Republican Guard, the customs service, the forestry department and the police. The integration of the remaining number of soldiers, a total of 255, would be covered by the 1998-99 budget.

The Guard was subsequently known as the Forces Nationales d’Intervention et de Securité (1997-2011). As Niger fell victim to the regional debt crisis of the 1980s, his successor, Seyni Kountché, failed to marshal resources to respond to successive drought-driven famines, especially the distress that afflicted and threatened the way of life of the minority Tuareg population. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999, BARE was killed in a counter coup by military officers who restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year.

Initially under the authority of Ministry of Defense, the National Guard was transferred to the Ministry of Interior in 2003. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and in 2009 spearheaded a constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his term as president. Faithful to their tradition, the National Guard remained loyal to President Tandja Mamadou in his attempt to prolong his presidency beyond the constitutional limits of his term. In February 2010, military officers led a coup that deposed TANDJA and suspended the constitution. During the 18 February 2010 military coup, the National Guard unsuccessfully defended President Tandja Mamadou in his attempt to overthrow the democratic rule in Niger.

ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 following the coup and reelected to a second term in early 2016. Despite growing development and security assistance from external donors, President Mamadou Issafou presided over weak political institutions and a fragile national scene, beset by the spillover effects of instability in neighboring countries and troubled by the lingering grievances and unmet expectations of Niger’s own citizens

In 2010 and 2011, several government decrees and ordonances proceeded to its reorganization and renaming to the National Guard of Niger. The national guard of Niger missions are defined by ordonnance n°201-61 of October 7, 2010 and consists of:

1. monitoring the national territory
2. maintaining public safety and restoring public order
3. protecting public buildings, people and their property
4. participating in defense emergency preparedness
5. carrying out judiciaries and administrative inquiries
6. conducting policing duties in rural areas and pastorals
7. providing honor services for the authorities
8. providing protection to republican institutions
9. participating in the operational territorial defense
10. providing administration, management and monitoring of prisons
11. participating in development activities in the country (i.e. humanitarian operations)
12. participating in peacekeeping in international commitments made by the Niger,
13. protecting the environment
14. searching and detecting offenses under the criminal laws
15. providing assistance to administrative authorities and the diplomatic and consular representations of Niger

The family of the National Guard of Niger expanded with the arrival of a new contingent from the 2011 promotion of the training center of the National Guard. The contingent was made up of 828 elements, including 87 girls, in 44 specialties. The ceremony took place 28 June 2012 during a large ceremony held at the center in the Basra district under the presidency of the Minister of State, Interior, Public Security and Religious Affairs, Mr. Abdou Labo.

The ceremony, which was organized according to the rules of the military art, began with a Fatiha called for the rest of the souls of the two pupils National Guards who died during the formation and Nigerian peacekeepers fell on the field of honor in Côte d ' Ivoire on June 8th to end with a demonstration and the parade of the various companies of the promotion. After the presentation to the national flag of the 828 new national guards, the Minister of State, Minister of the Interior, Public Security and Religious Affairs congratulated the new recruits for having valiantly accomplished the training which now gives them the rudiments essential to serve the noble cause of the defense of the Nation within the National Guard of Niger.

Captain Salissou Mahamane, the commanding officer of the training center, highlighted the quality of training received by the students after eight (8) months in the technical and human rights fields. The completion of the training is, for Captain Salissou Mahamane, proof of their aptitude to serve. Like the Minister of State and the High Command, the captain commanding the training center asked the "newcomers" to do honor to the National Guard of Niger and serve in the sole interest of the Nigerian Nation. The ceremony ended with the awarding of prizes and prizes to the companies and students who distinguished themselves during the 2011 promotion. The Minister of the Interior, Public Security, Decentralization and Customary and Religious Affairs Massoudou Hassoumi presided on October 24, 2014 over the ceremony of passing between the new High Commandant of the Niger The GNN, Lieutenant-Colonel Mahamadou Sidi and the outgoing High Command Lieutenant-Colonel Oumarou Tawayé.

The new High Commandant of the National Guard of Niger, Lieutenant-Colonel Mahamadou Sidi was born on 3 March 1974 in Tahoua. After his primary school in Tahoua, then secondary school at the CEG.V of Niamey. He attended the Lycée Franco-Arabe in Niamey where the end of his cycle was sanctioned by the obtaining of the baccalauréat series A8. He pursued his graduate studies in Computer Science of Management at the Special School of Computing and Electronics (ESIE). Lieutenant-Colonel Mahamadou Sidi was incorporated into the Nigerian Armed Forces on 1 October 1998, then to the National Guard after his training as an officer. As regards his professional experience, he first followed the course of training of active officers at the Military Academy of Khartoum in Sudan from 1998 to 2000.

From 2001-2002, he followed an application as a motorized infantry weapon at the School of the Armed Forces of Bouake in Ivory Coast, then training courses of Unit Commander (CFCU) commonly called captains course in Thiès in Senegal from 2004 To 2005. From 2012-2013, he attended the Military Academy course at the Interarms Academy of Cherchel in Algeria before completing further training courses in the fields of law enforcement terrorism. In 2005, he completed an anti-terrorism course in Baton Rouge in the United States of America. He participated in the refresher training course in Awayé in Cameroon.

Lieutenant-Colonel Mahamadou Sidi took the training course of Commander of the Groupement Tactique de la Gendarmerie Mobile in Saint Estier, France. In 2013, he completed an internship on Maritime Piracy and Transnational Insecurity at the Koffi Anan Peacekeeping Center in Accra, Ghana. It should be noted that Lieutenant-Colonel Sidi Mahamadou participated in several seminars in the interior of the country and in the sub-region and followed correspondence courses in the areas of peacekeeping. He was successively appointed second lieutenant on 1 October 2001; Lieutenant on 1 October 2003; Captain on 1 October 2008; Squadron leader on 1 October 2012; And promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on October 24, 2014 as an exception. An experienced officer and a field officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sidi Mahamadou was actively involved in the fight against the great banditry, which earned him a bonus of one year. For positions held, 2000 to 2002, trainee corps training at the Zinder Grouping; 2003 to 2006 Instructor, then Deputy to the Commander of the Training Center of the Republican Guard of Diffa.

From 2006 to 2007 He was Commander of the Groupement of the Republican Guard of Diffa. From 2009 to 2010, Commander of the Republican Guard of Tahoua. He was also the Commander of the Republican Guard Group in Niamey. In 2012, he was the Commander of the Regional Circuit of the National Guard of Niamey. From 2013 to the date of his appointment on October 24, 2014, he served as head of the National Guard Operations Center.