Shehu Sani Reacts To ‘Mali Coup’ As Soldiers Arrest President, Prime Minister

Shehu Sani, former Senator that represented Kaduna Central in the National Assembly has reacted to the arrest of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his Prime Minister, Boubou Cissé, late Tuesday afternoon in Bamako by mutiny Soldiers supporting the opposition.

Moments after the news of President Keïta’s arrest went viral, a video showing the moment Mali President was arrested also emerged on social media.

Naija News reports the political unrest in the West African country reached new degrees with the arrest of the nation’s leaders by the soldiers.

“We can tell you that the president and prime ministers are under our control. We arrested them at his home” (at the home of the Head of State), said a soldier, who requested anonymity.

“IBK (President Keita) and his Prime Minister are in an armoured vehicle on their way to Kati”, the military camp on the outskirts of Bamako where the mutiny began in the morning, said another military source in the mutineer camp.

Earlier on Tuesday, reports from the landlocked West African country said several government officials and senior army officers had been detained in the capital of Bamako and at the nearby military base of Kati.

The development has attracted reactions from various quarters with the African Union condemning the arrest of President Ibrahim Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, who took to Twitter to react, called for the immediate release of the duo.

Similarly, Senator Sani in his reaction stated that “Whenever we say coup is outdated then we see it updated.” He made the submission in a reaction to the development via a post on his Twitter page on Tuesday evening.

Whenever we say coup is outdated then we see it updated.

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) August 18, 2020

Giving further updates on Wednesday, Senator Sani described the Mali coup as a bad omen for other African democracies.

“The Coup in Mali is a serious set back to democracy in Africa and a bad omen for other democracies in the subregion;But the people of Mali who have been thru tragic experiences of intractable political crisis appear to be fully in support of it.We should respect their wishes,” he wrote.

The Coup in Mali is a serious set back to democracy in Africa and a bad omen for other democracies in the subregion;But the people of Mali who have been thru tragic experiences of intractable political crisis appear to be fully in support of it.We should respect their wishes.

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) August 19, 2020

As earlier reported by Naija News, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja amidst reports of a possible coup in Mali after gunfire broke out at a key army base near Mali’s capital in Bamako on Tuesday, triggering fears of a mutiny in the crisis-stricken Sahel state.

The meeting between the two leaders is related to the ongoing peace efforts regarding the political situation in Mali.

It will be recalled Jonathan was appointed as a special peace envoy by the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) as part of efforts to amicably resolve the political impasse in Mali.