The National Guard was first created in 1963 as the Republican Guard under the presidency of President Diori Hamani. Due to its loyalty to President Hamani, following the 1974 coup by President Seyni Kountche, it was restructured to ensure loyalty to Seyni Kountche. During those years, the guard was primarily tasked of protecting the president and was made up of elite soldiers trained by Moroccan officers.[1] After the 1995 peace agreements between the government of Niger and the Touareg rebel groups, it was restructured and renamed to "Forces Nationales d'Interventions and Securite (FNIS)". Ex-rebel members were reinserted into this body as per the terms of the peace agreements. Previously under the authority of Ministry of Defense, the national guard was transferred under the authority of the Ministry of Interior in 2003. Faithful to their tradition, the National Guard remained loyal to President Mamadou Tandja in his attempt to prolong his presidency beyond the constitutional limits of his term. Later, during the 2010 military coup, the National Guard unsuccessfully defended President Tandja Mamadou.[1] In 2010 and 2011, several government decrees and ordinances proceeded to its reorganization and renaming to the National Guard of Niger.
Mission
A National Guard personnel deployed in Diffa against Boko Haram in 2016
The mission of the national guard of Niger is defined by ordinance n°201-61 of October 7, 2010 and consists of:[3]
monitoring the national territory
maintaining public safety and restoring public order
protecting public buildings, people and their property
participating in defense emergency preparedness
carrying out judiciaries and administrative inquiries
conducting policing duties in rural areas and pastorals
providing honor services for the authorities
providing protection to republican institutions
participating in the operational territorial defense
providing administration, management and monitoring of prisons
participating in development activities in the country (i.e. humanitarian operations)
participating in peacekeeping in international commitments made by the Niger,
protecting the environment
searching and detecting offenses under the criminal laws
providing assistance to administrative authorities and the diplomatic and consular representations of Niger
^ ab[1]Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Gouvernance du secteur de la sécurité en Afrique de l’Ouest: les défis à relever – Le Niger
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Garde nationale du Niger