THE House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to deploy all diplomatic channels to secure the safe return of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is currently stranded in Guinea-Bissau after the recent coup in the country.
The House issued the call during on Thursday, November 27, during its plenary, just a day after military seized power in the West African nation.
Members explained that the former president was among the African leaders on a joint mission of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the West African Elders Forum, who were in Guinea Bissau to monitor the presidential election held over the weekend.
They urged the Federal Government to rescue Nigerians equally trapped in the country.
The ICIR reported that head of the military office of the presidency, Denis N’Canha, a Brigadier General, announced on Wednesday that it had taken control in Guinea-Bissau, just a day before the scheduled release of results from a fiercely contested poll.
N’Canha, seated at a table and surrounded by armed soldiers, told journalists that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice”.
The officers halted the country’s electoral process and shut its borders, three days after Guinea-Bissau held its legislative and presidential elections.
Media reports indicated that incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was inside a building behind military headquarters with the chief of staff and the Minister of Interior.
Embalo later said he was arrested while inside the presidential palace, adding that the chief of staff, Biague Na Ntan, the deputy chief of staff, Mamadou Traore, both generals, and the interior minister, Botche Cande, were also detained.
In separate statements, the Election observers from ECOWAS, the AU, and the Nigerian government expressed deep concern over the situation in Guinea-Bissau, condemning the coup as unacceptable and urged a swift return to democratic governance.
The coup took place a few hours after eyewitnesses said gunfire erupted on Wednesday near the headquarters of Guinea-Bissau’s election commission, as well as close to the presidential palace and the Interior Ministry.
The gunfire lasted for about an hour but appeared to have stopped by 1400 GMT, and it was not immediately clear who was involved in the shooting. There was a heavy military presence outside the presidential palace.
The ICIR reported that Guinea Bissau held presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, where Embalo was seeking to become the first president in three decades to win a second consecutive term.
Guinea-Bissau, a small coastal nation between Senegal and Guinea, with about two million people, saw at least nine coups between 1974, when it gained independence from Portugal, and 2020, when Embalo took over power.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.
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