Detained Gabonese President Pleads With Friends To Help Him Secure Freedom: "Make Noise"

• Embattled Gabon president Ali Bongo Ondimba said he did not know what was happening since his arrest and detention
• Bongo said his wife and son's whereabouts were also unknown to him since they had been placed in different locations
• He called on his friends across the world to “make noise” until his freedom was secured from the house arrest in his residence

Gabon - Ousted Gabon leader Ali Bongo Ondimba has appealed for help from friendly nations to help secure his freedom.

In a video statement, the deposed leader called on his friends worldwide to 'make noise' to secure his release from house arrest.

Bongo said he did not know where the coup plotters were holding his wife and son, adding that he was unaware of what was happening.

"I am Ali Bongo Odimba, President of Gabon. I am to send a message to all friends all over the world to tell them to make noise for the people here have arrested me and my family. My son is somewhere, my wife is in another place.

Right now I am in the residence and nothing is happening. I don't know what is going on. So I am calling you to make noise. Thank you," he said.

What will happen to Bongo?

Coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema told French newspaper Le Monde that the president was entitled to enjoy all his rights after the military announced it had placed him under house arrest.

Nguema said Bongo said, like any other Gabonese, the deposed leader was entitled to his rights as a retired head of state.

“He is a Gabonese head of state. He is retired. He enjoys all his rights. He is a normal Gabonese, like everyone else,” Nguema said.

Nguema did not confirm if he would take over as the new president of the West African country, arguing that it was a debate they would have with all the generals.

"We will meet at 2pm [13:00 GMT]. It will be about reaching a consensus. Everyone will put forward ideas, and the best ones will be chosen as well as the name of the person who will lead the transition,” he added.

Intervention in military coup in Niger

In a related story, TUKO.co.ke reported that a group of religious leaders meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, aired their views on the ongoing coup d’état in Niger.

The religious leaders pointed out the threat that the crisis poses to the entire West African region as well as the continent’s economic crisis.

Bishop Laurent Dabire of Dori Diocese in Burkina Faso and his Malian counterpart Florent Kone of San Diocese warned against plans by Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deploy military personnel against the Niger military junta.