Togo has arrested and extradited the former leader of Burkina Faso to his homeland, after authorities in Ouagadougou accused him of plotting to assassinate his successor.
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba – who came to power in a coup in 2022 before Ibrahim Traoré toppled him eight months later – is accused by the current regime of masterminding an assassination attempt against Traoré.
According to the Togolese justice ministry, Damiba was handed over to Burkinabè authorities on Saturday.
It said as part of the deal, Burkina Faso promised to ensure “the physical integrity, dignity and fair trial rights of Mr Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and the absence of the death penalty”.
Among the charges brought against Damiba by Burkina Faso’s military government are “criminal embezzlement of public funds, illicit enrichment, corruption, aggravated receipt of stolen goods and money laundering”, Togo’s justice ministry said in a statement.
No comments from Damiba about the charges were reported and the BBC’s calls to him were not returned.
The most serious are the allegations of an assassination plot.
Earlier this month, Burkina Faso’s Security Minister Mahamadou Sana announced on state television that security forces had foiled a planned series of targeted killings aimed at destabilizing the state, including what he called the “neutralization” of Traoré.
Officials in Ouagadougou have repeatedly accused Damiba of orchestrating plots from exile. In late 2024, he was again publicly named as the head of what authorities described as the “military wing” of a wider conspiracy.
Damiba first took power in January 2022, toppling the elected government of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid frustration over the state’s failure to curb Islamist violence.
But after eight months, he himself was ousted by Traoré, then a 34-year-old artillery officer who accused him of failing to deliver security improvements.
Since then, the junta led by Traoré has strengthened its grip on the country, expelling French forces, adopting a forceful nationalist stance and recently reinstating the death penalty, including for crimes of high treason.
Despite promises to restore order, Burkina Faso remains mired in one of the world’s worst security crises, with jihadist militant attacks continuing in many parts of the country.
Damiba’s return to Burkina Faso, under arrest and possibly facing a long list of criminal charges, is expected to increase tensions within the military and political establishment.
Political observers have suggested that repeated accusations, failed plots and widening divisions within the armed forces are likely to lead to questions about the stability of a government still facing a brutal insurgency and internal strife.
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty