Mohamed Akotey

Akotey was born around 1967 in the village of Tidene, just north of Agadez.^[1] He studied geography in Niamey, and later left to study archaeology at Sorbonne University.^[2]

On December 15, 1995, his uncle Mano Dayak, the head of Temoust Liberation Front, died in a plane accident during the Tuareg rebellion.^[1] Akotey was urged by his family to lead the Coordination of Armed Resistance, a coalition of anti-government Tuareg groups led by Dayak that included the TLF.^[1] Unlike Dayak, however, Akotey joined government negotiations and made amends with Rhissa Ag Boula, another Tuareg leader who had a rivalry with Dayak.^[1]

Akotey was appointed Nigerien Minister of the Environment and Fight Against Desertification in 2007 by Mamadou Tandja.^[3]

In 2008, Akotey resigned from his post to become chairman of the board of directors of Imouraren SA, which controlled the Imouraren mine.^[1] In 2010, Salou Djibo entrusted Akotey with securing the release of the Arlit hostages kidnapped on September 16, 2010.^[1] This role continued under the Issoufou administration. Akotey helped release the hostages on October 27, 2013, after mediating with jihadist leader Ibrahim Ag Inawalen.^[4] After the release of the Arlit hostages, Akotey negotiated the release of Serge Lazarevic, who was kidnapped in Mali in 2012.^[2]