Nigeria Offers Asylum to Guinea-Bissau Opposition Leader
On Monday, the Nigerian Foreign Ministry announced that its embassy in Bissau provided protection to Dias after reports of “imminent threats” to his life emerged following the November 23 vote and the subsequent coup that removed Bissau-Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embalo from power.
The ministry also urged the West African regional organization, ECOWAS, to send its forces to Guinea-Bissau to safeguard Dias.
This development coincides with ongoing negotiations led by ECOWAS mediators, headed by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, who have been in discussions with the new military leadership to encourage a return to constitutional governance.
Dias had been Embalo’s principal rival in the presidential election, which was held concurrently with legislative contests.
Both candidates claimed victory before official results were released, amid concerns over the exclusion of key opposition figure Domingos Simoes Pereira and his party, a move that critics argued compromised the credibility of the electoral process.
Three days after the elections, military forces assumed control, halted the electoral process, closed borders and media outlets, and established a High Military Command to administer the country.
The soldiers claimed their intervention targeted a criminal conspiracy involving high-ranking officials and foreign actors, later appointing army chief General Horta Inta-a as transitional leader for a one-year term.
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