The Federal Government has confirmed that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is unharmed and has exited Guinea-Bissau in the aftermath of the military takeover that toppled the country’s government on Wednesday.
The confirmation came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
“Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is very safe and out of Guinea-Bissau,” he said.
Jonathan had travelled to the country as head of the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, where he monitored last Sunday’s presidential and legislative elections before soldiers announced they had assumed control of the state.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Issifu Kamara of ECOWAS, and Jonathan condemned the military action, describing it as a deliberate attempt to derail the electoral process.
They urged residents to remain calm and reaffirmed the missions’ commitment to supporting the country “during this sensitive period,” while emphasising “the importance of preserving peace, stability, and the well-being of the Bissau-Guinean people.”
The Federal Government also issued a separate statement denouncing the coup, warning that the development posed a grave danger to democratic governance within the sub-region.
The Ministry said it received the news “with profound dismay and deep concern,” insisting that the takeover amounted to “an unconstitutional change of government in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau,” and breached the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Guinea-Bissau descended into chaos on Wednesday after military officers announced they had assumed “total control,” shut down national borders and halted electoral operations.
Gunfire echoed near the presidential palace as armed soldiers barricaded major routes.
General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, later declared that a joint military command made up of all service branches had taken over leadership “until further notice.”
Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, in a phone interview with France24, said, “I have been deposed.”
He was reportedly inside a building near military headquarters “with the chief of staff and the minister of the interior,” according to AFP.
Both Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias had earlier claimed victory in Sunday’s elections, with provisional results expected to be released on Thursday.
