{"id":286355,"date":"2023-08-30T10:11:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T09:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/?p=286355"},"modified":"2023-08-30T10:11:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T09:11:10","slug":"coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/","title":{"rendered":"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Coup came moments after the national election authority said Bongo had won a third term in Saturday\u2019s election with 64.27 percent of the vote<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><strong>Bongo has been in power for 14 years, after being first elected in 2009 following the death of his father who had ruled the country for 41 years<\/strong><\/strong><br \/>\n<hr \/>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Military officers announced on Wednesday overturning the government in Gabon, in an apparent coup targeting President Ali Bongo Ondimba who has been in power for 14 years and whose re-election was just announced.<\/p>\n<p>The status of Ali Bongo, whose family has ruled the oil-rich African country for over 55 years, was not immediately clear but the area around his residence appeared to be quiet.<\/p>\n<p>While the officers made their televised statement announcing the cancellation of the vote results one of the officers said \u201call the institutions of the republic\u201d had been dissolved.<\/p>\n<p>The address was read by an officer flanked by a group of a dozen army colonels, members of the elite Republican Guard, regular soldiers and others.<\/p>\n<p>It came moments after the national election authority said Bongo, 64, had won a third term in Saturday\u2019s election with 64.27 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Bongo has been in power for 14 years, after being first elected in 2009 following the death of his father who had ruled the country for 41 years.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement came in the middle of an overnight curfew and amid a nationwide internet shutdown, imposed by Bongo\u2019s government as polling drew to a close on Saturday to prevent the spread of \u201cfalse news\u201d and possible violence.<\/p>\n<p>Internet was restored on Wednesday morning after the TV address.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis,\u201d the officer said on TV channel Gabon 24.<\/p>\n<p>He said the recent election \u201cdid not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,\u201d the officer said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the \u201cCommittee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Fraud\u2019 accusation<br \/>\n\u201cAll the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,\u201d he added, announcing the closure of the country\u2019s borders \u201cuntil further notice\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Bongo and his main rival Albert Ondo Ossa led a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job in the oil-rich central African state.<\/p>\n<p>According to the results issued prior to the officers\u2019 announcement, Ondo Ossa won just 30.77 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Before polls closed on Saturday, he had accused Bongo of \u201cfraud\u201d while claiming he was the rightful winner.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Ondo Ossa\u2019s campaign manager Mike Jocktane called on Bongo to hand over power \u201cwithout bloodshed\u201d, insisting a partial count had Ondo Ossa clearly ahead, without providing any proof.<\/p>\n<p>The elections in Gabon \u2014 presidential, legislative and municipal \u2014 went ahead without the presence of election observers.<\/p>\n<p>The country\u2019s broadcasting authority had also provisionally banned the French channels France 24, Radio France Internationale (RFI) and TV5Monde, accusing them of \u201ca lack of objectivity and balance\u201d in election coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Gabonese law forbids any publication of partial results pending the final result which only the Gabonese Elections Centre, the body that organises the polls, is legally allowed to publish.<\/p>\n<p>Paris said it was following events in Gabon with \u201cthe greatest attention\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>China also said it was \u201cclosely following the developing situation\u201d and called for the safety of Bongo to be \u201cguaranteed<\/p>\n<p>Family ruler<br \/>\nGabon has been ruled by the same family for more than 55 out of its 63 years since independence from France in 1960.<\/p>\n<p>Bongo\u2019s father Omar was one of France\u2019s closest allies in the post-colonial era and his son has long been a regular in Paris, where his family owns an extensive real estate portfolio that is being investigated by anti-corruption magistrates.<\/p>\n<p>Paris maintains a military presence in many of its former territories \u2014 including Gabon where it has 370 soldiers permanently deployed, some in the capital Libreville, according to the French defence ministry website.<\/p>\n<p>During a speech in Libreville in March, French President Emmanuel Macron denied any French ambitions to interfere in Africa, saying that the age of meddling was \u201cwell over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The French mining group Eramet, which employs 8,000 people in Gabon, said that it had halted activities in the country \u201cfor the safety of staff and the security of operations\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The status of Ali Bongo, whose family has ruled the oil-rich African country for over 55 years, was not immediately clear but the area around his residence appeared to be quiet.<\/p>\n<p>While the officers made their televised statement announcing the cancellation of the vote results one of the officers said \u201call the institutions of the republic\u201d had been dissolved.<\/p>\n<p>The address was read by an officer flanked by a group of a dozen army colonels, members of the elite Republican Guard, regular soldiers and others.<\/p>\n<p>It came moments after the national election authority said Bongo, 64, had won a third term in Saturday\u2019s election with 64.27 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Bongo has been in power for 14 years, after being first elected in 2009 following the death of his father who had ruled the country for 41 years.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement came in the middle of an overnight curfew and amid a nationwide internet shutdown, imposed by Bongo\u2019s government as polling drew to a close on Saturday to prevent the spread of \u201cfalse news\u201d and possible violence.<\/p>\n<p>Internet was restored on Wednesday morning after the TV address.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis,\u201d the officer said on TV channel Gabon 24.<\/p>\n<p>He said the recent election \u201cdid not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,\u201d the officer said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the \u201cCommittee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Fraud\u2019 accusation \u2013<br \/>\n\u201cAll the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court,\u201d he added, announcing the closure of the country\u2019s borders \u201cuntil further notice\u201d.<br \/>\nBongo and his main rival Albert Ondo Ossa led a race of 14 candidates vying for the top job in the oil-rich central African state.<\/p>\n<p>According to the results issued prior to the officers\u2019 announcement, Ondo Ossa won just 30.77 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Before polls closed on Saturday, he had accused Bongo of \u201cfraud\u201d while claiming he was the rightful winner.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Ondo Ossa\u2019s campaign manager Mike Jocktane called on Bongo to hand over power \u201cwithout bloodshed\u201d, insisting a partial count had Ondo Ossa clearly ahead, without providing any proof.<\/p>\n<p>The elections in Gabon \u2014 presidential, legislative and municipal \u2014 went ahead without the presence of election observers.<\/p>\n<p>The country\u2019s broadcasting authority had also provisionally banned the French channels France 24, Radio France Internationale (RFI) and TV5Monde, accusing them of \u201ca lack of objectivity and balance\u201d in election coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Gabonese law forbids any publication of partial results pending the final result which only the Gabonese Elections Centre, the body that organises the polls, is legally allowed to publish.<\/p>\n<p>Paris said it was following events in Gabon with \u201cthe greatest attention\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>China also said it was \u201cclosely following the developing situation\u201d and called for the safety of Bongo to be \u201cguaranteed<\/p>\n<p>Family ruler<br \/>\nGabon has been ruled by the same family for more than 55 out of its 63 years since independence from France in 1960.<\/p>\n<p>Bongo\u2019s father Omar was one of France\u2019s closest allies in the post-colonial era and his son has long been a regular in Paris, where his family owns an extensive real estate portfolio that is being investigated by anti-corruption magistrates.<\/p>\n<p>Paris maintains a military presence in many of its former territories \u2014 including Gabon where it has 370 soldiers permanently deployed, some in the capital Libreville, according to the French defence ministry website.<\/p>\n<p>During a speech in Libreville in March, French President Emmanuel Macron denied any French ambitions to interfere in Africa, saying that the age of meddling was \u201cwell over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The French mining group Eramet, which employs 8,000 people in Gabon, said that it had halted activities in the country \u201cfor the safety of staff and the security of operations\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coup came moments after the national election authority said Bongo had won a third term in Saturday\u2019s election with 64.27 percent of the vote Bongo has been in power for 14 years, after being first elected in 2009 following the death of his father who had ruled the country for 41 years Military officers announced [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":286333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"2","single_blog_custom":"211693","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"0","show_prev_next_post":"0","show_popup_post":"0","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_override_bookmark_settings":{"override_bookmark_button":"0","override_show_bookmark_button":"0"},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[777,7366,1745,3060],"class_list":["post-286355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","tag-army","tag-coup","tag-gabon","tag-power"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Coup came moments after the national election authority said Bongo had won a third term in Saturday\u2019s election with 64.27 percent of the vote Bongo has\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS PICKS \u2014 WITHIN NIGERIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/withinnigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-30T09:11:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/08\/Gabon24.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"980\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"551\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@withinnigeria\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@withinnigeria\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/900b0932ac1bcc1a5864f28f00a898c6\"},\"headline\":\"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-30T09:11:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1417,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Gabon24.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Army\",\"Coup\",\"Gabon\",\"Power\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Africa\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/\",\"name\":\"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Gabon24.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-30T09:11:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Gabon24.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/Gabon24.jpg\",\"width\":980,\"height\":551,\"caption\":\"President Ali Bongo\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/30\\\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS\",\"description\":\"Latest &amp; Trending Nigeria News, Entertainment, Sports\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WITHN NIGERIA MEDIA LIMITED\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/Logo-dark-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/Logo-dark-bg.png\",\"width\":750,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"WITHN NIGERIA MEDIA LIMITED\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/withinnigeria\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/withinnigeria\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/withinnigeria\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/withinnigeria\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCo0qw0SqhKNTsQQM48FpdTA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/900b0932ac1bcc1a5864f28f00a898c6\",\"name\":\"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2550bcb9e0a9edc282f2caeeec2c83111b44bb44e98f57fdd1ea8051f2223264?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2550bcb9e0a9edc282f2caeeec2c83111b44bb44e98f57fdd1ea8051f2223264?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2550bcb9e0a9edc282f2caeeec2c83111b44bb44e98f57fdd1ea8051f2223264?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong\"},\"description\":\"Adejayan is an award-winning Journalist and Opinion writer with varied experience in Nigeria. Mail me at AdejayanOluwagbenga@withinnigeria.com. See full profile on Within Nigeria's TEAM PAGE\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.withinnigeria.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/adejayan_gbenga\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army","og_description":"Coup came moments after the national election authority said Bongo had won a third term in Saturday\u2019s election with 64.27 percent of the vote Bongo has","og_url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/","og_site_name":"NEWS PICKS \u2014 WITHIN NIGERIA","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/withinnigeria","article_published_time":"2023-08-30T09:11:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":980,"height":551,"url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/08\/Gabon24.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@withinnigeria","twitter_site":"@withinnigeria","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong","Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/"},"author":{"name":"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/900b0932ac1bcc1a5864f28f00a898c6"},"headline":"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army","datePublished":"2023-08-30T09:11:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/"},"wordCount":1417,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/08\/Gabon24.jpg","keywords":["Army","Coup","Gabon","Power"],"articleSection":["Africa"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/","url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/","name":"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/08\/Gabon24.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-30T09:11:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/08\/Gabon24.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/08\/Gabon24.jpg","width":980,"height":551,"caption":"President Ali Bongo"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2023\/08\/30\/coup-why-we-took-over-power-gabon-army\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Coup: Why we took over power \u2014 Gabon army"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/","name":"NEWS","description":"Latest &amp; Trending Nigeria News, Entertainment, Sports","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#organization","name":"WITHN NIGERIA MEDIA LIMITED","url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/01\/Logo-dark-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/01\/Logo-dark-bg.png","width":750,"height":500,"caption":"WITHN NIGERIA MEDIA LIMITED"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/withinnigeria","https:\/\/x.com\/withinnigeria","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/withinnigeria\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/withinnigeria\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCo0qw0SqhKNTsQQM48FpdTA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/900b0932ac1bcc1a5864f28f00a898c6","name":"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2550bcb9e0a9edc282f2caeeec2c83111b44bb44e98f57fdd1ea8051f2223264?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2550bcb9e0a9edc282f2caeeec2c83111b44bb44e98f57fdd1ea8051f2223264?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2550bcb9e0a9edc282f2caeeec2c83111b44bb44e98f57fdd1ea8051f2223264?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adejayan Gbenga Gsong"},"description":"Adejayan is an award-winning Journalist and Opinion writer with varied experience in Nigeria. Mail me at AdejayanOluwagbenga@withinnigeria.com. See full profile on Within Nigeria's TEAM PAGE","url":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/author\/adejayan_gbenga\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}