Former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has broken his silence on the political turmoil in Guinea-Bissau, describing last Wednesday’s power takeover as a suspicious and unprecedented “ceremonial coup.” Jonathan, who was in Bissau as part of an international election observation mission, said he was compelled to address the nation due to the tension and concern that followed reports of his temporary confinement during the crisis.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday, Jonathan thanked Nigerians for their overwhelming show of concern, noting that citizens across political, ethnic, and religious divides expressed deep anxiety about his safety. He also expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, who both deployed aircraft to evacuate him and other delegates. The Ivorian aircraft eventually proceeded due to quicker landing clearance, prompting Nigeria’s aircraft to stand down.
Jonathan said the situation in Guinea-Bissau did not resemble any known model of a military coup, describing it as “strange, confusing, and contrary to everything I know from decades of studying and mediating political crises.” According to him, it was the first time in history that a sitting president—Umaro Sissoco Embaló—personally announced a coup against himself, while freely using his phone to speak to international media outlets and declaring that he had been arrested.
He described the election itself as peaceful, credible, and well-coordinated, noting that observers from ECOWAS, AU, and international bodies monitored the process across all nine regions. Jonathan confirmed that results from the regions were already collated and moved to the capital before the sudden takeover. He insisted that ECOWAS and the AU already possess the authentic results and therefore have a responsibility to release them.
Jonathan said: “They cannot change those results. They have the records. ECOWAS and AU must announce them so the world knows who actually won that election. Nobody should play games with the will of the people.”
The former president expressed disappointment that Embaló, a retired military officer and immediate past ECOWAS Chair, would be at the center of such a questionable scenario. He argued that Embaló should have been the one person capable of preventing instability, given his military background and regional leadership position.
Jonathan rejected the notion that the crisis was a genuine military coup, stating that nothing about the scenario resembled real coups he had witnessed or studied, including during his mediation efforts in Mali. He recalled that in true coups, ousted leaders are never allowed access to their phones or the press, nor do they have the opportunity to announce their own overthrow. Jonathan emphasized that the Guinea-Bissau incident appears more like a deliberate internal arrangement engineered at the time results were about to be declared.
The former president warned that Guinea-Bissau must not return to the instability of 2011–2014, noting that he personally worked to stabilize the country during his time as ECOWAS Chair. He described the current development as painful and deeply troubling to anyone who believes in democracy and political order.
Reacting to reports that ECOWAS had suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making structures, Jonathan said the move was consistent with ECOWAS protocols, which prohibit military takeovers and mandate automatic suspension for any member-state that experiences an unconstitutional change of government. He insisted that even if only a handful of countries remain committed to the bloc’s democratic principles, ECOWAS must stand firm and refuse to normalize military interference.
On the detention of opposition leader Fernando Dias, Jonathan condemned the arrest and described it as baseless and unacceptable. He argued that Dias did not declare himself president, did not incite violence, and committed no offense that warrants detention. He called on the military authorities in Guinea-Bissau to immediately release him.
Jonathan reiterated that two things must happen before Guinea-Bissau can begin any credible transition: the release of Fernando Dias and the publication of the authentic election results as collated at the polling units and regional centers.
When asked how soon constitutional rule might return, the former president said no one can predict the exact timeline, noting that several other West African military regimes—such as those in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso—have yet to transition. However, he insisted that pressure from ECOWAS, AU, and the international community will eventually force a return to democratic governance.
Jonathan concluded that the world must not allow the military to rewrite the events of the election in Guinea-Bissau, stressing that citizens deserve to know who won and why the transition was interrupted.
