Nigeria Offers Protection To Fernando Dias After Guinea Coup

Nigeria has given shelter to Guinea Bissau presidential contender Fernando Dias at its embassy in Bissau after last week’s military takeover, according to a statement from Nigeria’s foreign ministry on Monday. The move comes as regional leaders press the soldiers who seized authority to allow the disputed election process to resume.

The intervention places fresh weight on the political crisis in the small coastal state, where the armed forces removed the civilian administration before final results could be announced. Nigeria’s decision to host Dias highlights the growing concern within West Africa about the fate of the vote and the rising threat to the region’s fragile democratic norms.

Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States met the military officers in Bissau on Monday. The delegation, led by Sierra Leone’s president Julius Maada Bio, called for an immediate return to constitutional order. A Reuters witness said the discussions grew heated as officials demanded that the armed forces release the election results.

Timothy Musa Kabba, Sierra Leone’s foreign minister, spoke after the talks and said the bloc was united in its position. He stated that ECOWAS wanted the electoral process to move forward without delay. He added that the future of Guinea Bissau would be considered when regional heads of state gather on December fourteen. He also noted that sanctions remain on the table if the junta refuses to comply.

Major General Horta Inta a, now serving as interim leader, defended the takeover. He said the army acted to prevent what he described as an attempt by narcotraffickers to capture the country’s political structure. He promised a one year transition beginning immediately.

Meanwhile the military authorities have placed tight controls on public gatherings. A statement late on Sunday announced a ban on protests, strikes and any activity considered a threat to peace and stability. Several regional officials have already branded the takeover a sham.

Dias, forty seven, has said he was on course for victory in the November twenty three vote before the coup halted the process. Supporters in the opposition coalition insist the takeover was designed to stop the release of results that would have confirmed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo’s defeat.

Nigeria’s foreign ministry said President Bola Tinubu approved a request to safeguard Dias after receiving reports of imminent danger. The statement also called on the ECOWAS stabilisation force to deploy in Guinea Bissau to ensure his security.

The political future of the country now rests on the regional summit due in mid December, where leaders must decide whether to escalate pressure or seek a negotiated path back to civilian rule.