Nigeria’s Federal Government on Thursday confirmed that former President Goodluck Jonathan was safely evacuated from Guinea-Bissau in the wake of a military coup that dissolved the country’s government.
The confirmation was given in Abuja by Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who told journalists, “Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is very safe and out of Guinea-Bissau. He left with a special flight with members of his delegation, including Mohamed Chambas.”
Jonathan had been in the country leading the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission and overseeing last Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary polls before soldiers declared a takeover and suspended the electoral process.
The coup sparked chaos in the capital on Wednesday, with gunfire echoing around the State House and troops sealing borders, blocking key roads, and surrounding the presidential palace.
General Denis N’Canha, who heads the presidential military bureau, said a unified command “composed of all branches of the armed forces was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice,” while President Umaro Sissoco Embalo announced, “I have been deposed.”
In a separate remark on a call with international media, he added, “I have been deposed,” and later said, “I have been deposed.”
The federal government condemned the putsch, saying it received the news “with profound dismay and deep concern,” describing the takeover as “an unconstitutional change of government” that breached the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jonathan, together with Filipe Nyusi (Head of the African Union Observation Mission) and ECOWAS mission lead Issifu Kamara, denounced the coup in a joint statement, urging restraint and emphasizing “the importance of preserving peace, stability, and the well-being of the Bissau-Guinean people.”
While the president was initially reported to be inside a guarded facility near military headquarters, authorities later cited intelligence on an alleged conspiracy involving “national drug lords” who planned to import weapons “to alter the constitutional order.”
On Thursday, the junta reversed its earlier border restrictions. As confirmed by General Lansana Mansali, Inspector General of the Armed Forces, on a briefing to AFP, “All borders are now open,” signaling a partial easing of tensions.
Both Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias had earlier declared victory in Sunday’s vote, with provisional results due before the military curtailed the announcement.
Guinea-Bissau has endured chronic political instability, experiencing four successful coups and several failed attempts since independence. One of the poorest nations globally, it had deployed over 6,700 local and regional security troops for the elections, including the ECOWAS Stabilisation Contingent.
