The Federal Government has condemned the coup d’état in Mali, calling for the restoration of constitutional order. Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made the call in a tweet on his official handle on Wednesday.
“The Nigerian Government unequivocally condemns the coup d’état that took place in Mali yesterday and demands the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order,” he said. “We welcome the urgent activation of the ECOWAS Standby force.”
Rebel troops seized Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse in a dramatic escalation, Tuesday, of a months-long crisis. Neighbouring states in West Africa, along with France, the European Union and the African Union, condemned the sudden mutiny and warned against any unconstitutional change of power in the fragile country.
The UN Security Council will hold emergency talks on the crisis on Wednesday, diplomats in New York said. “We can tell you that the president and the prime minister are under our control” after they were “arrested” at Keita’s residence in the capital Bamako, a rebel leader, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
