Abdulsalami led a high-powered delegation of the ECOWAS to the troubled West African nation.

The delegation met with Prime Minister Ali Zeine who received them at the airport and led them to the presidential palace.

They met with Tchiani and his team for about 90 minutes and later President Mohamed Bazoum.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting with Bazoum, Abdulsalami said, “We met him and heard his side of the story. He told us what was done to him and the challenges he is facing.

“We will communicate this to ECOWAS leaders. Doors for talks are now open for a lasting solution.”

The former Head of State did not go into details of the discussion they had with Tchiani and the ousted president.

But some weeks ago, Bazoum in a series of text messages to a friend said he had been “deprived of all human contact”, with no one supplying him food or medicine.

According to the overthrown president, he had been living without electricity, a normal occurrence for all Nigeriens after Nigeria cut off electric power in response to the coup.

Bazoum said all of the perishable food he was supplied with has since gone bad, and he was eating dry pasta and rice.