Guinea-Bissau opposition leader returned to prison over coup plot accusations
via Punch Nigeria8 min read
Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, head of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde PAIGC, was returned to prison by a military court on Friday. Pereira faces accusations of involvement in an attempted coup in October 2025, which he is alleged to have helped finance, as well as separate financial crimes and participation in a 2023 coup attempt. He was initially detained when the army overthrew President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in November of last year, then released in January and placed under house arrest in Bissau. Pereira's legal team and party denounce the accusations as arbitrary and politically motivated, claiming they aim to prevent him from participating in the presidential election scheduled for December 6. Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups d'etat and several attempted overthrows since its independence in 1974, with General Horta N'Tam currently leading the military government.
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Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, has questioned the use of bombing as an option to rescue kidnapped pupils and teachers in Oyo State. This query comes more than 50 days after their abduction from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15, 2026, where over 39 pupils and seven teachers were taken. One teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded shortly after the attack. Bwala, speaking on The Morayo Show, stated that the government prioritizes a safe rescue, emphasizing that using lethal force could endanger the captives. He acknowledged that the government is aware of their condition and aims to rescue them alive, despite the prior killing of a hostage. He then posed the question back to the show, asking if bombing suspected locations was the desired course of action given the circumstances.
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