Gabonese coup plotters appoint General Brice Oligui Nguema as President of Transitional Phase

In the early hours of Wednesday, the coup leaders in Gabon appointed General Brice Oligui Nguema, the commander of the Republican Guard, as the "head of the transitional phase" after they seized power and rejected the results of the presidential elections, in which Ali Bongo, who has held his family's grip on power for 55 years, won a third term.

The African Union condemned the coup plotters' seizure of power, and Nigeria warned of "pernicious dictatorship" in a continent that has witnessed military takeovers in six countries since 2020.

Ali Bongo, 64 years old, who became president in 2009 after the death of his father Omar Bongo Ondimba, has been placed under house arrest. One of his sons has also been detained on charges of "high treason," according to the coup leaders.