Coup: Gabonese soldiers place ousted president Ali Bongo under house arrest, detain son for treason

Following a successful coup by the Gabon soldiers, the coupists have been reported to have placed President Ali Bongo under house arrest.

The Informant247 gathered that the coupists also announced that one of his sons had been arrested for “treason”.

The coupists, in a televised address, claimed that they represent all security and defence forces in the Central African nation, adding that Bongo is “surrounded by his family and doctors”.

The Informant247 had earlier reported on Wednesday that the soldiers cited institutional, political, economic, and social crises as reasons for the coup, adding that Bongo’s administration had been reduced to an “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos”.

As elections were wrapping in Gabon, the government announced a nationwide curfew and cut off internet access.

Media outlets were also banned over “a lack of objectivity and balance”.

The country’s political opposition described the election as a “fraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters”.

The coup punctuated Bongo’s family’s 53-year hold on power.

The 64-year-old rose to power when Omar, his father, died after ruling from 1967 to 2009.

The Gabon coup comes barely a month after President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic was toppled by a military junta.

Negotiations instigated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to relinquish power to Bazoum have been ongoing since his deposition on July 26.