By Ayo Yusuf
The military junta which Wednesday deposed President Ali Bongo of Gabon in a coup have arrested his son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, preparatory to charging him for treason.
According to the news site Alarabiya News, Mr. Valentine will face treason charges with other allies of the deposed government.
TheNewDiplomat earlier reported that a dozen soldiers appeared on the Gabon’s national television to announce the overthrow of Bongo’s government.
The soldiers also said President Ali Bongo was “under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” in a statement read out on the state TV.
Apart from the president and his immediate family, his son Valentin who was a close adviser, his chief of staff Ian Ghislain Ngoulou and his deputy, two other presidential advisers and the two top officials in the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) were also arrested, military sources have said.
They are accused of treason, embezzlement, corruption and falsifying the president’s signature, among other allegations, he said.
The military takeover in Gabon is the latest coup in Africa president which has witnessed a number of coups recently.
Four countries in West Africa are currently under military rule including Niger which is facing sanctions and the possibility of an invasion by multinational forces sponsored by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
