EX-PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has returned to Nigeria after being trapped in coup-hit Guinea-Bissau where he went for election observation.
News Point Nigeria reports that Jonathan arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja late Thursday, about two days after military officers took over power in the West African country.
He arrived at the Abuja airport aboard a Guinea-Bissau government aircraft and was welcomed on the tarmac by team of supporters and government officials.
The former president was in Guinea-Bissau to monitor the presidential and parliamentary elections as head of the West African Elders Forum Observation Mission.
His team, that of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), were still carrying out their duties when the military struck in Guinea-Bissau.
The development left the former Bayelsa governor stranded, alongside others in the observation team, raising concerns over his safety.
However, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ex-president is safe and has left Guinea-Bissau.
“Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is very safe and out of Guinea-Bissau,” the spokesperson for the ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said.
“He left with a special flight with members of his delegation, including Ibm Chambas.”
Guinea-Bissau military officers “total control” of the country on Wendnesday. They suspended the nation’s electoral process and closed its borders, days after presidential and legislative elections.
Following the coup, the head of the presidential military office, General Denis N’Canha, said a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice”.
The officers arrested President Umaro Embalo, who had been favoured to win Sunday’s election.
A day after the coup, it named the chief of staff of the army, General Horta N’Tam, as the country’s new leader for one year.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has condemned the coup, asking for the restoration of constitutional order in the West African nation.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria, in the strongest possible terms, condemns this act of military insurrection which undermines the democratic progress, constitutional order, and stability not only of Guinea-Bissau but of the entire West African sub-region,” Ebienfa, Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry spokesperson, wrote in a statement.
“This coup d’état represents a blatant violation of the fundamental principles of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which explicitly rejects any ascension to power through unconstitutional means.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Guinea-Bissau and call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order, the safety and security of all those detained and the full respect for the sanctity of democratic institutions in Guinea-Bissau,” he added.