The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to the country’s opposition presidential candidate, Fernando Dias da Costa, citing alleged threats to his life following a military coup last Wednesday.
The coup took place just days after the presidential elections in the Portuguese-speaking West African nation, during which both Da Costa and the incumbent President Umaro Embaló had prematurely declared victory before the electoral commission could announce the official results.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern over the coup, calling for the immediate restoration of constitutional order.
The ministry affirmed it would work closely with international partners to take all necessary measures to ensure a “swift return” to normalcy.
In a letter dated November 30 and addressed to Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved Da Costa’s protection within the Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau in response to threats made against his life.
Tuggar stated in the letter: “In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilization Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ESSMGB) to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy.”
The authenticity of the letter was confirmed to The Cable on Monday by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy.
Abdulkadir said: “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Mr. Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”
He added that Nigeria exercised its lawful discretion to prevent further escalation of tensions.
“Acting in the broader interest of de-escalation, Nigeria exercised its lawful discretion to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region,” he said.
Abdulkadir noted that the intervention is guided by human security and regional stability, aligning with ECOWAS principles and Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.
The regional bloc, ECOWAS, had convened an emergency virtual summit following the coup and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the organization until constitutional order is restored.
