Federal Government has condemned the coup d’état that took place in Mali on Tuesday, August 18, and called for the restoration of constitutional order.
It would be recalled that rebel soldiers took President Ibrahim Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse into custody on Tuesday afternoon and drove the pair to a military base on the outskirts of Bamako, which they had seized that morning.
Keita, whose government had been beset by months of protests over economic stagnation, corruption and a brutal Islamist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives, later announced on Wednesday that he has resigned to avoid “bloodshed”.
Read Also: Mali’s President, Ibrahim Keita Resigns After Arrest By Mutinying Soldiers
The coup’s leaders appeared on television hours later to pledge a political transition and new elections within a “reasonable time”.
Malian Air Force deputy Chief of Staff, Ismael Wague, said he and his fellow officers have “decided to take responsibility in front of the people and of history”.
Reacting on Wednesday, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, tweeted;
The Nigerian Government unequivocally condemns the coup d’état that took place in Mali yesterday and demands the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order. We welcome the urgent activation of the ECOWAS Standby force.
The Nigerian Government unequivocally condemns the the coup d’état that took place in #Mali yesterday and demands the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order. We welcome the urgent activation of the #ECOWAS Standby force. @NigeriaGov @ecowas_cedeao
— Geoffrey Onyeama (@GeoffreyOnyeama) August 19, 2020
