FG Condemns ‘Unconstitutional Change Of Govt’ In Guinea, Calls For Return To Constitutional Order

By Florence Cornelius On Sep 6, 2021

Federal Government of Nigeria has condemned what it describes as an apparent coup d’état in the Republic of Guinea.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Esther Sunsuwa, made the government’s position known in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, the takeover of power by the military is in clear violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

It said;

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.

The statement was issued following reports that special forces in Guinea have taken over power in what appears to be a new twist in the political unrest in the West African country.

As a result, incumbent President Alpha Conde who has been in office since December 2010, was said to have been arrested by the soldiers.

“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 sent to AFP.

A screenshot taken from footage sent to AFP by a military source on September 5, 2021, shows Guinean Colonel Doumbouya delivering a speech following the capture of the President of Guinea Conakry and the dissolution of the government during a coup d’etat in Conakry on September 5, 2021. MILITARY SOURCE / AFP

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, Lieutenant Colonel Mamady 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.

The coup leader said;

We are no longer going to entrust politics to one man, we are going to entrust politics to the people. 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.

A screenhot taken from footage sent to AFP by a military source on September 5, 2021 shows the President of Guinea Conakry Alpha Conde after he was captured by army putschists during a coup d’etat in Conakry on September 5, 2021. MILITARY SOURCE / AFP

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.

In a social media post, he expressed;

I am personally following the situation in Guinea very closely. I strongly condemn any takeover of the government by force of the gun and call for the immediate release of President Alpha Conde.