BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — Nigeria has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the main challenger in Guinea-Bissau’s disputed presidential election, after a military coup prevented results from being announced.
Dias, 47, who ran for the Party for Social Renewal, fled his campaign headquarters as armed men attempted to arrest him. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar confirmed that President Bola Tinubu approved Dias’s protection inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau, citing threats against him.
Coup and Electoral Crisis
The coup occurred three days after the 23 November presidential vote, in which both Dias and incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embaló claimed victory. The electoral commission later said it could not publish results after armed men destroyed paperwork and servers storing tallies.
The junta suspended the electoral process, banned demonstrations, and installed former army chief Gen. Horta N’Tam as transitional leader for one year.
Regional and International Reaction
ECOWAS has condemned the coup, suspended Guinea-Bissau from decision-making bodies, and demanded a return to constitutional order. Mediation talks led by Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba were described as “productive” but inconclusive.
Nigeria’s letter to ECOWAS emphasized its commitment to safeguarding Guinea-Bissau’s democratic aspirations, requesting ECOWAS soldiers be deployed to protect Dias at the embassy.
Speculation of a “Sham Coup”
The motives behind the coup remain unclear. Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan suggested the takeover may have been staged. Civil society groups accused Embaló of orchestrating a “simulated coup” to block unfavorable election results.
Embaló, 53, has since left for Senegal and later Congo-Brazzaville. Guinea-Bissau, long plagued by instability, has witnessed at least nine coups or attempts since independence from Portugal in 1974.