Nigeria gave asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa after the Guinea-Bissau presidential candidate got death threats following a military takeover that blocked election results from getting published. The West African country went through another coup when armed soldiers trashed ballot paperwork and destroyed computer servers that had vote counts stored on them. Both Dias and outgoing president Umaro Embaló claimed they won before the military stepped in and suspended everything.
Electoral officials said masked gunmen raided their offices and grabbed computers from dozens of staff members while intercepting ballot sheets being moved to the capital. The junta installed a transitional leader for a year-long term, and regional bloc Ecowas kicked Guinea-Bissau out of decision-making positions until things get sorted out. Some politicians and activist groups think Embaló faked the whole coup to avoid losing power, but he bounced to Senegal without addressing those accusations.
Electoral officials said masked gunmen raided their offices and grabbed computers from dozens of staff members while intercepting ballot sheets being moved to the capital. The junta installed a transitional leader for a year-long term, and regional bloc Ecowas kicked Guinea-Bissau out of decision-making positions until things get sorted out. Some politicians and activist groups think Embaló faked the whole coup to avoid losing power, but he bounced to Senegal without addressing those accusations.
