Niger’s interior minister embroiled in visa trafficking allegations

General Mohamed Toumba, Niger’s influential Minister of Interior and a pivotal figure within the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) since the coup d’état on July 26, 2023, is currently at the center of a highly sensitive investigation. The senior military official faces indirect implications in an illicit scheme involving the commercialization of residency permits for travel between West Africa and Europe, with his spouse directly implicated in the operation.

A clandestine network facilitating access to the Schengen area

This affair, which remained discreet within Niamey’s diplomatic and security circles until recently, directly involves the Spanish Embassy in Niger. General Toumba’s wife, a former employee of the chancery, is suspected of leveraging her previous position to orchestrate an extensive network for illegal Schengen visa trafficking.

The operational framework of this network, which has since been dismantled, revolved around highly lucrative clandestine services:

• Fees: Charges ranged from 2 to 5 million CFA francs (approximately 3,048 to 7,622 euros) per visa.
• Procedure: Applicants were not required to appear before consular services, with all necessary steps managed remotely.
• Targeted Clientele: The system predominantly attracted Malian nationals. These individuals allegedly benefited from an illegal waiver of the mandatory residency permit verification in Niger, a document typically required to bypass the Spanish Embassy in Bamako. Upon their arrival in Madrid, local facilitators immediately received them.

Preliminary findings from the investigation suggest that nearly 1,500 Malians may have traveled to Europe through this illicit channel.

Financial ramifications and key arrests

Investigations spearheaded by the Directorate General of Documentation and External Security (DGDSE), under the leadership of Lieutenant-Colonel Souleymane Balla-Arabé, have uncovered suspicious financial flows aimed at laundering funds across the region, notably towards Sénégal.

Agents from the external intelligence service have carried out several significant arrests:

• Maty Cissokho Toumba, the spouse of the Interior Minister, underwent questioning by investigators.
• Samsoudine Idrissa, identified as the logistical coordinator of the network and an associate of General Toumba, was apprehended by the DGDSE immediately after departing the minister’s residence.
• Another alleged accomplice, reportedly recruited by the minister’s wife shortly before her departure from the Spanish Embassy a year ago, is also under judicial scrutiny.

Political tensions at the highest echelons of the state

The initiation of these proceedings by the DGDSE intelligence services, rather than traditional judicial police, has exacerbated internal rivalries within the ruling military junta. This scandal further intensifies the climate of distrust permeating the transitional regime.

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the transitional president, is increasingly perceived as consolidating power among members of his own Haoussa community, potentially marginalizing other high-ranking officials from the Zarma community. This development directly undermines prominent Zarma figures within the regime, most notably General Mohamed Toumba, who holds the third-highest position in the junta, and General Salifou Modi, the Minister of Defense, despite his considerable respect within the armed forces.