Breaking: Gunshots as Guinea-Bissau President 'Arrested' in Coup, Video Emerges

Breaking: Gunshots as Guinea-Bissau President 'Arrested' in Coup, Video Emerges

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering global affairs.

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau - President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau has disclosed that he was arrested today, Wednesday, November 26, in a “coup d’état”.

As reported by The Africa Report, Embalo told Jeune Afrique that he was detained around 1 pm while he was in his office at the presidential palace.

Chaos in Guinea-Bissau as gunshots ring out and people flee during the reported arrest of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in a coup.
Chaos erupts in Guinea-Bissau as President Umaro Sissoco Embalo is reportedly arrested in a coup. Photo credit: @senego
Source: Twitter

Legit.ng recalls that the 2025 Bissau-Guinean presidential election took place on Sunday, November 23, and Embalo said he had won with 65% of the vote, by his own count.

Embalo's main challenger, Fernando Dias, also declared victory before the release of official results.

Both campaigns had claimed on Monday, November 24, that their contender exceeded the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright, eliminating the need for a run-off, Al Jazeera noted.

Coup erupts in Guinea-Bissau

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Also arrested on Wednesday, November 26, were the armed forces’ chief of staff, General Biaguê Na Ntan; the deputy chief of staff, General Mamadou Touré; and the interior minister, Botché Candé.

According to President Embalo, no force was used against him during the deposition, which he said was led by the army chief of staff.

A video purportedly showing Bissau-Guineans running helter-skelter for safety can be seen below:

More to come...

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ridwan Adeola Yusuf avatar

Ridwan Adeola Yusuf (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content creator with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.