Togo has expelled Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the former interim president of Burkina Faso, after arresting him last week in the capital, Lome, according to sources close to the matter.
Damiba is accused of being behind several failed coup attempts in Burkina Faso. One of his associates said he was arrested and accused of trying to destabilise the country before being taken to the airport and deported.
His final destination has not been made public.
A regional security official and a Togolese source confirmed the arrest and expulsion. Authorities in Burkina Faso had not issued an official statement by Monday evening.
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Damiba came to power in January 2022 after leading a military coup that removed then-president Roch Marc Christian Kabore. However, he was himself overthrown eight months later by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who remains Burkina Faso’s current leader.
Since fleeing to Togo, Damiba has been repeatedly accused by Burkina Faso’s military government of planning coups and assassination attempts against Traore. Earlier this month, the government said it had stopped a plot to kill Traore on January 3.
If the plan had succeeded, it would have marked Burkina Faso’s third coup in four years.
Following the alleged plot, state television aired several days of recorded confessions from suspected plotters. Many of them claimed they were acting on Damiba’s instructions.
Burkina Faso’s security minister said the group planned a series of targeted killings of both civilian and military leaders, beginning with President Traore.
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