By Ayomide Otitoju
Burkina Faso’s former transitional president, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has been arrested in neighbouring Togo and expelled, according to sources familiar with the matter.
An associate of Damiba said he was arrested last week in Lomé and tried in connection with an alleged “attempted destabilisation” in Burkina Faso before being escorted to the airport. A regional security source and a Togolese source close to the case separately confirmed the development.
Damiba, a former lieutenant-colonel, seized power in a January 2022 coup that ousted then-president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. However, he was himself removed from office eight months later in another coup that brought Captain Ibrahim Traoré to power.
Since his ouster, Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta has repeatedly accused Damiba of masterminding multiple coup plots and assassination attempts against Traoré.
Earlier this month, the authorities alleged that Damiba and his co-conspirators planned a series of “targeted assassinations” against civilian and military officials on January 3, reportedly beginning with an attempt to neutralise Traoré.
