Political Risk:
Very High
Score:
31/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
42/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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Under the Constitution (1), the Nigerien National Assembly (NA) has formal rights to oversee government actions, including defence and security policy. The NA has…
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The National Assembly (NA) debates issues of defence and national security and has made attempts to influence government policy through formal mechanisms. It authorises…
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Following the most recent election in February 2016, the National Assembly elected 117 deputies to serve a five-year term. The PNDS-Tarayya presidential political party…
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Q2
17/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The National Assembly has a Security and Defence Committee that is to be set up at the beginning of each legislative cycle (Art. 30…
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Presided over by a lawyer, Hama Assah, the committee is composed of 24 members (1). Coming from different backgrounds, only a few of them…
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The committee may have some oversight over major defence decisions if new threats arise. For instance, in February 2015, the committee authorised the dispatch…
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Chapter III of the Internal Rules document provides the Commission with the right to propose amendments (1). However, according to interviewees (2), at least…
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According to article 30, line 7 of the Internal Rules, the Commission has a right to conduct investigations related to policies (1). However, according to…
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The National Assembly’s capacity to have an institutional impact on defence policy is limited. According to interviewees, deputies have never managed to propose a…
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Q3
44/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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Defence and security policy is debated by the executive, the legislature and the public. Niger has a strategy for development and security (SDS Sahel-Niger,…
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Two principle issues seem to be at the heart of the security and defence debate, involving civil society organisations, the legislative and the executive:…
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There are formal public consultations on defence policy and the security strategy. However, it is difficult to establish with precision to what extent defence…
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The overall defence objectives are stated in the Constitution, which is publicly available (Article 66). It states that Niger’s armed forces are responsible for…
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Q4
25/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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The Niger defence and security institutions include the Niger Armed Forces (FAN), Gendarmerie Nationale, which are under the tutelage of the Ministry of Defence,…
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There are several important CSOs in Niger (1), but only one is focused specifically on the fight against corruption. The Nigerien Association for the…
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Defence and security institutions are beginning to seek CSOs engagement. However, police institutions seem to be more open than the military and they are…
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Q5
75/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Niger is not a defence exporter. The Parliament of Niger ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption through Act No. 2008-26 of 3 July…
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The UNCAC obliges the state parties to implement a full range of anti-corruption measures affecting their laws, institutions and practices. These measures aim to…
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Q6
50/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Outside of government, there is evidence of public debate on security and defence issues. It is brought up by civil society, journalists and academics.…
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Government tends to engage in discussions with the public on defence issues through open forums and media briefings. For example, in December 2017 the…
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Q7
63/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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There is an anti-corruption policy – National Strategy to fight Corruption and its Action plan – adopted in January 2018 by the Council of…
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The National Strategy to Fight Corruption provides an action plan for dealing with the issue (1,2). In April 2018 a steering Committee for the National…
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Q8
42/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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Defence and security services in Niger include different various institutions: the Niger Armed Forces (FAN), under the Ministry of Defence, are responsible for external…
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The IGA depends directly on the Presidency of the Republic (1). Therefore, it is not in the chain of command of the Ministry of…
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According to an interviewee, the IGA could lead two forms of audit: planned and non-planned. The planned one conducts fact-finding visits to the field…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. According to TI’s 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, Niger is ranked 33/100 (0 = perceived…
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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No defence-specific assessment of corruption risk has been commissioned or taken place in the last 2-3 years. Even though an official risk assessment has…
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Risk assessments were not conducted, therefore, the section is marked Not Applicable.
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Risk assessments were not conducted, therefore, the section is marked Not Applicable.
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Defence Budgets
Q11
8/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The government has a process for acquisition planning as a result of the programming act of the Ministry of Defence. According to art. 20…
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According to art. 20 of the 2013 Decree on defence and security procurement, the acquisition plan is not subject to publication and is classified…
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Given the confidentiality of the procurement procedures (1), it is unlikely that the acquisition plan is subject to any oversight. The plan is not…
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Q12
63/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The Nigerien defence budget is published on an annual basis as part of the financial law available in the Official Journal, in a printed…
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The National Assembly is responsible for analysing the national budget and provides government oversight when it comes to drafting budgetary legislation, which is passed…
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Q13
25/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Nigerien National Assembly (NA) is constitutionally vested with formal rights to carry out oversight of all government actions; it can vote on all…
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According to Open Budget Survey 2017, the Niger legislature provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during…
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Q14
33/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The approved financial law is made publicly available in the Official Journal (1); it provides some budgetary explanation but does not clarify different types…
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The Nigerien defence budget is published on an annual basis as part of the financial law available in the Official Journal, in a printed…
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Information on the defence budget, published in the Official Journal is generally made available to the public in the National Archives. However, more detailed…
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Q15
8/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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There is no defence industry in Niger, and the military does not own any property that could provide it with additional income or revenue…
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The Defence Ministry’s internal oversight body – the Office of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces (IGA) – provides a scrutiny mechanism (1).…
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Civil Society Organisations (CSO) occasionally participate in defence and security debates. For example, every year, AEC organises a forum “Session Budgetaire Citoyenne” to discuss…
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Q16
0/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The Defence Ministry’s internal oversight body is called the Office of the Inspector General of the Armed Forces (IGA/Inspection Générale des Services) (1). It…
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There is no evidence on the effective control of the defence ministry expenditure conducted by the IGA. Therefore this indicator is marked Not Applicable.…
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There is no evidence of the effective control of the defence ministry expenditure conducted by the IGA. Therefore this indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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There is no evidence of the effective control of the defence ministry expenditure conducted by the IGA. Therefore this indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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Q17
17/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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External auditing falls under the mandate of the National Audit Office, which also includes security spending reviews, particularly the verification of the accounting terminology…
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Both the National Audit Office and the State Inspectorate General are legally independent entities from the Defence Ministry. Article 141 of the Constitution (1)…
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The internal reports are not published (1,2,3) and are not accessible to the public.
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. The assessor found no evidence of the precise institutional outcomes…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
58/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Niger is currently the world’s fourth-largest uranium-producing country (1), with gold and oil being other important exports (2). No instrument directly prevents defence institutions…
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The assessor found no cases of defence institutions involved with companies working in natural resource exploitation (1, 2). It should be noted that an…
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Based on interviews and media analysis, the assessor found no cases of individual defence personnel being involved in businesses relating to the country’s natural…
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Since there is no legal framework for defence and security institutions regarding declaration of interests in extractive industries, this indicator has been marked Not…
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Since there is no legal framework for defence and security institutions regarding declaration of interests in extractive industries, this indicator has been marked Not…
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Organised Crime
Q19
50/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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The extent of penetration of organised crime into the Nigerien defence and security sector is difficult to evaluate. The likelihood of organised crime being…
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There is evidence that the Nigerien government is aware of the possible involvement of some elements of the defence and security sector in organised…
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Q20
42/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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Internal oversight bodies of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior represent institutions that generally have the mandate to conduct audit missions…
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It is difficult to assess the extent to which the policing functions of the SCLCT or CENTIF are subject to undue influence from top…
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Even if there may be cases of involvement of security and defence forces in corruption or organised crime investigated, they are not disclosed publicly…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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Niger’s intelligence services are connected in various ways to security and defence institutions. Among others, they include the Central Service for the Fight against…
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In practice, the committee cannot control policies, administration and budgets of the intelligence services. Therefore this indicator has been marked Not Applicable. The IGSS…
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Q22
NEI/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The assessor found no evidence of objective selection criteria being employed in the recruitment of senior intelligence posts. It is also worth noting that…
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. The assessor found no recruitment information for senior intelligence posts.
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. The assessor found no recruitment information for senior intelligence posts.
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Export Controls
Q23
NEI/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Niger ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on July 24, 2015 (1).
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. Niger, which is not an arms exporter, has failed to…
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Niger has no domestic arms manufacturers and SIPRI has no record of arms exports from Niger (1). Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not…
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Lobbying in Defence
The country has no framework for regulating lobbying activity that covers defence institutions.
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The country has no framework for regulating lobbying activity that covers defence institutions. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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The country has no framework for regulating lobbying activity that covers defence institutions. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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The country has no framework for regulating lobbying activity that covers defence institutions. Therefore, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable.
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