Top Niger opposition figure Hama Amadou granted bail - Lawyer

Niger’s Appeal Court has granted bail to opposition presidential candidate Hama Amadou.

Amadou had been hospitalized in France since March 16 after being evacuated from his Nigerien prison.

Hama Amadou was imprisoned in November last year for alleged child trafficking.

“The decision is clear: the Court (of Appeal) has ordered the provisional release of the candidate Hama Amadou who is free from today,” Mossi Boubacar, a lawyer for Hama Amadou said.

He run his entire presidential campaign for the February polls behind bars and managed to push the election into a runoff.

The opposition coalition supported his candidature but declined to participate in the second round of the election paving the way for the incumbent president Mahamadou Issoufou’s landslide victory.

Opposition activists have condemned the long detention of Amadou without bail saying it was a political move; the government also denies the claim.

Following his victory in the second round, President Issoufou called on the opposition to join a national unity government.

Indications show that the opposition are open to talks with the government after earlier refusing the President’s overture.