The Federal Government of Nigeria has denounced the suspension of the Guinean constitution and arrest of President Alpha Conde in a coup d’état on Sunday.
The position of the Nigerian government was made known in a statement by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Esther Sunsuwa.
According to the statement, the hostile takeover of the government by the military was a clear violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
The statement read:
“The Government of Nigeria strongly condemns and rejects any unconstitutional change of government and therefore calls on those behind this coup to restore constitutional order without delay and protect all lives and property,” it said.
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The statement comes after President Alpha Conde was arrested from the Guinean Presidential palace by the military’s special forces, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.
The coup is reportedly a fallout of a political crisis that erupted when President Conde, who has been in office since December 2010, changed the constitution to allow him to stay in office for a third term.
In accordance to the new law, Conde’s salary was also increased, which instigated a civil unrest in the West African country.
“We have decided, after having taken the president, to dissolve the constitution,” a uniformed officer flanked by soldiers wielding assault rifles was quoted as saying in a video.
The soldier announced that Guinea’s land and air borders have been shut and that the government had been dissolved.
Thereafter, the head of Guinea’s military special forces, Lt. Col.Doumbouya, was said to have appeared on public television.
Wrapped in the country’s flag, Doumbouya revealed that his action was triggered by “mismanagement” by the government.
“We are no longer going to entrust politics to one man, we are going to entrust politics to the people,” the coup leader said. “Guinea is beautiful. We don’t need to rape Guinea anymore; we just need to make love to her.”
There has been lingering political tension in Guinea, first spurred by the bid for a third term by President Conde’s in 2020.
Another video sent to AFP showed a rumpled-looking President Conde sitting on a sofa, surrounded by troops.
The 83-year-old who survived an assassination attempt in 2011 refused to answer a question from a soldier about whether he was being mistreated while in their custody.
Sunday’s incident in Guinea has continued to attract condemnation and criticism, one of which was the reaction of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who asked the putschists to release Conde.
“I am personally following the situation in Guinea very closely,” he said in a social media post. “I strongly condemn any takeover of the government by force of the gun and call for the immediate release of President Alpha Conde.”
