Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-President of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, were among top dignitaries held up in Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday after the military in the West African country announced that they had taken over power.
Although THISDAY confirmed that the African leaders were safe in their hotel rooms as of last night, flights in and out of the country had been suspended, while there was no authority in Guinea Bissau to discuss exit plans with.
Besides, many of the election observers who were supposed to leave the country either last night or today (Thursday) were stranded as a result of the flight cancellations. The African leaders were in the country on an election observer mission.
But the group of army officers said they had seized power in coup-prone Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday, a day before the planned announcement of results from a hotly contested presidential election.
In a statement read on state television by spokesperson, Diniz N’Tchama, the army officers said they had deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, suspended the electoral process, shut borders and would enforce a curfew. Shortly after, Embalo told France 24 TV: “I have been deposed.”
The army officers said in their statement that they had formed “The High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” and would be in charge of the West African nation until further notice. The officers did not specify if they had taken Embalo into custody, and his whereabouts was unknown.
It was the latest outbreak of unrest in Guinea-Bissau, a small coastal nation situated between Senegal and Guinea that is a notorious hub for cocaine bound for Europe, Reuters reported.
It was not immediately clear whether the army had the support of all of Guinea-Bissau’s fractious armed forces or whether they were in control of all of the country of around two million people.
The army statement said the officers’ decision to take power came in response to a destabilisation plan concocted by “certain national politicians” and “well-known national and foreign drug barons”, as well as an attempt to manipulate the election results.
Shortly before the officers’ announcement, gunfire rang out near the electoral commission headquarters, presidential palace and interior ministry, witnesses said. It lasted for about an hour but appeared to have stopped by 1400 GMT, a Reuters journalist said.
“People are running everywhere,” said a driver in Bissau who asked not to be named, describing scenes of panic. There was no word yet of any casualties.
The electoral commission had been due on Thursday to announce provisional results from Sunday’s election in which Embalo faced off against top challenger Fernando Dias.
Both sides had claimed victory in the first round of voting. Embalo was seeking to become the first president in three decades to win a second consecutive term in Guinea-Bissau.
A spokesperson for Embalo, Antonio Yaya Seidy, told Reuters that unidentified gunmen attacked the election commission to prevent an announcement of the vote results.
He said the men were affiliated with Dias, without providing evidence. A spokesperson for Dias did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Former Prime Minister, Domingos Simoes Pereira, who lost to Embalo in a contested runoff in 2019 and has backed Dias in this election, told Reuters that Dias had nothing to do with the incident. Dias was meeting election observers when “some people erupted in the room to announce that there were gunshots in the centre of the town,” said Pereira, who said he was in the same meeting. Dias was safe and in Bissau, Pereira said.
Guinea-Bissau had been shaken by at least nine coups and attempted coups between 1974, when it gained independence from Portugal, and 2020, when Embalo took office. Embalo has said he has survived three coup attempts during his time in office. His critics have accused him of manufacturing crises as an excuse for crackdowns.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement by the Heads of the African Union Election Observation Mission, ECOWAS Election Observation Mission, and the West African Elders Forum on the post-election situation in Guinea-Bissau, the observers deplored what they described as a blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process and the gains that have been achieved thus far.
The statement signed by former President Jonathan, President of the Republic of Mozambique, Nyusi as well as the Head of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission, Issifu Kamara, decried the arrest of top officials, including those in charge of the electoral process.
“We, the Heads of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM), and the West African Elders Forum note the orderly and peaceful conclusion of the voting process for the presidential and legislative elections held on 23 November 2025 in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau.
“We commend the people of Guinea-Bissau for their strong civic engagement, as well as the professionalism demonstrated by polling staff, security personnel, presidential candidates’ and party agents, throughout the voting process.
“Despite these encouraging developments, we express deep concern with the announcement of a coup d’etat by the armed forces, while the nation was waiting for the announcement of the results. It’s regrettable that this announcement came at a time when the missions had just concluded a meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people.
“We deplore this blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process and the gains that have been achieved thus far. We request the African Union and the ECOWAS to take the necessary steps to restore constitutional order.
“We express concern about the arrests of top officials including those that are in charge of the electoral process. In this regard, we urge the armed forces to immediately release the detained officials to allow the country’s electoral process to proceed to its conclusion,” the election observers stated.
Emmanuel Addeh
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