Coup leaders on Wednesday have arrested Gabonese President, Ali Bongo Ondimba following military takeover in the country.
According to the coup leaders, Bango is under house arrest and one of his sons has also been arrested for “treason.”
This is coming hours after announcing they had overthrown the government.
“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” they said in a statement read out on state TV on Wednesday.
The military takeover, according to the statement released by the officers under the aegis of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions, cited “serious institutional, political, economic and social crises” as among the factors responsible for the coup.
Bongo has been in power for 14 years in the oil-rich West African country.
“Today, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis,” the officer said on TV channel Gabon 24.
He said the recent election “did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.”
“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” the officer said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the “Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions”.
All the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,” he added, announcing the closure of the country’s borders “until further notice”.
The coup in Gabon is coming on the heel of the yet-to-be-resolved coup in Niger Republic.
