General Mohamed Toumba, Niger’s Interior Minister and a prominent member of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) since the July 26, 2023 coup, is facing scrutiny in a significant case. The high-ranking officer is indirectly linked to an illegal residency permit trafficking scheme connecting West Africa and Europe, with direct involvement attributed to his spouse.

This matter, previously undisclosed within Niamey’s diplomatic and security circles, implicates the Spanish Embassy in Niger. General Toumba’s wife, a former employee of the embassy, is suspected of leveraging her past role to orchestrate an extensive Schengen visa trafficking operation.

The operational method of this now-dismantled network involved highly profitable illicit services:

• Fees: Individual visas were reportedly priced between 2 and 5 million CFA francs (approximately 3,048 to 7,622 euros).
• Process: Applicants were not required to appear at consular offices, with all procedures handled remotely.
• Targeted Beneficiaries: The scheme primarily attracted Malian nationals. These individuals were unlawfully exempted from the mandatory Nigerien residency permit verification, a document typically required to bypass the Spanish Embassy in Bamako. Upon their arrival in Madrid, local contacts immediately facilitated their onward arrangements.

Initial investigative findings suggest that approximately 1,500 Malians may have traveled to Europe through this illicit channel.

Financial ramifications and key arrests

Investigations conducted by the Directorate General of Documentation and External Security (DGDSE), under the leadership of Lieutenant-Colonel Souleymane Balla-Arabé, have uncovered suspicious financial flows intended for money laundering within the region, with notable connections to Senegal.

External intelligence operatives have executed several significant arrests:

• Maty Cissokho Toumba, the spouse of the Interior Minister, underwent questioning by investigators.
• Samsoudine Idrissa, identified as the network’s logistical coordinator 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 state

The initiation of these proceedings, spearheaded by intelligence services (DGDSE) rather than conventional judicial police, is intensifying internal rivalries within the ruling military junta.

This scandal amplifies the atmosphere of distrust pervading the transitional regime. Transitional President General Abdourahamane Tchiani is increasingly consolidating power among members of his own community (Haoussa), marginalizing other senior officials from the Zarma community. Consequently, this matter directly weakens prominent Zarma figures within the regime, notably General Mohamed Toumba (the junta’s third-highest official) and General Salifou Modi, the Minister of Defense, who is otherwise highly regarded within military ranks.