Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, head of the rebel-run transitional government, told a Nigerian delegation of Islamic religious leaders that the military takeover was well-intended, Daily Trust reported.
"They struck to starve off an imminent threat that would have affected not only Niger Republic but also Nigeria," senior Nigerian cleric, Sheik Bala Lau, quoted Tchiani as saying during their Saturday meeting.
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, who doubles as chairman of West African regional bloc ECOWAS, condemned the takeover in late July. Nigeria hosted an ECOWAS leaders’ summit in Abuja this week that agreed to deploy a standby force to Niger to force the military to reinstate the deposed president.