Speaking on national television on Saturday, the army spokesperson said the reopening of the border is because the junta was “concerned with preserving respect for the rule of law, good relations with our neighbours and all states of the world” — and wanted to keep its “international commitments”.

The land, sea and air borders would be reopened “with immediate effect”, the army spokesperson said.

The military officers led by Brice Oligui Nguema, former head of the country’s presidential guard, had cited institutional, political, economic, and social crises as reasons for the coup.

After announcing that they had seized power, the soldiers, who identified themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), said they were dissolving “all the institutions of the republic”.

The soldiers also announced the closure of the country’s borders.

The coup — the eighth in West and Central Africa in three years — has raised concerns about a contagion of military takeovers across the continent, painting a picture of democratic regress.

Oligui is due to be sworn in as the transitional president on Monday.

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Ngelale, who spoke on Wednesday during a press conference at the State House, Abuja, said the president “affirmed that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from our great continent”.

Earlier, Gabonese soldiers announced on national television that they had seized power after President Ali Bongo was re-elected for a third term in office in the Central African nation.

The soldiers said they were annulling the results of Saturday’s election which the opposition had denounced as “fraudulent”.

A few hours later, the coup leaders placed Bongo under house arrest and announced that one of his sons had been arrested for “treason”.

According to Ngelale, Tinubu said he was deeply concerned about the spread of autocracy in Africa.

“The president frowned at the latest military takeover in Gabon adding that “power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun,” Ngelale said.

He added that Tinubu urged African leaders to uphold democratic values, as he is consulting with the AU leaders on how best to address the “contagious autocracy” spreading across Africa.

“To this end, the president is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of State in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent,” he said.

Ngelale added that Tinubu has also had “substantive extended discussions” with Justine Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, on issues related to the crisis in the Niger Republic and the unfolding situation in Gabon.

“The two heads of state mutually agreed that the promotion and protection of constitutional democratic governance on the continent remains a paranoid priority and that the people of Africa living in the diaspora around the world making a huge impact on the social and political landscapes of countries around the world and the economies of countries around the world continue to urge on the global community to advance the course of democracy on the continent for the sake of the economic prosperity of all Africans,” Ngelale said.

“So, it is of frontline importance to understand that President Bola Tinubu would continue to engage with Heads of State not just only in the African Union but also around [the] world and those communications and engagements are ongoing.”

Tinubu, who is also the chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been relentless in his resolve to ensure that constitutional order returns to Niger Republic, a country experiencing its fifth coup.

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The soldiers also announced that one of his sons has been arrested for “treason”.

In a televised address, the soldiers who said they represent all security and defence forces in the Central African nation, added that Bongo is “surrounded by his family and doctors”.

Earlier on Wednesday, the soldiers cited institutional, political, economic, and social crises as reasons for the coup.

They added that Bongo’s administration had been reduced to an “irresponsible, unpredictable governance resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion that risks leading the country into chaos”.

As elections were wrapping up in Gabon, the government announced a nationwide curfew and cut off internet access.

Media outlets were also banned over “a lack of objectivity and balance”.

The country’s political opposition described the election as a “fraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters”.

The coup punctuated Bongo’s family’s 53-year hold on power.

The 64-year old rose to power when Omar, his father, died after ruling from 1967 to 2009.

The Gabon coup comes barely a month after President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic was toppled by a military junta.

Negotiations instigated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to relinquish power to Bazoum have been ongoing since his deposition on July 26.

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According to the BBC, the officers said they were annulling the results of Saturday’s election which the opposition had denounced as “fraudulent”.

“We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the soldiers was quoted as saying on TV channel Gabon 24.

The Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) had declared Bongo winner of the election on Wednesday with 64.27% of the votes cast.

Michel Bonda, CGE head, said Bongo’s main challenger, Albert Ossa, had polled second with 30.77%.

Bongo’s team have rejected Ossa’s allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities.

Tensions have been running high in Gabon with fears of unrest, following the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Bongo’s overthrow would end his family’s 53-year hold on power. He became president when his father Omar died in 2009.

Bongo, 64, suffered a stroke in 2018 which sidelined him for almost a year and led to calls for him to step aside.

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Government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou told Reuters that four of the five officers involved were arrested in the capital Libreville. A fifth officer fled and is being pursued, he said.

In a radio message at 4:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang, who described himself as an officer in the Republican Guard, said Bongo’s New Year’s Eve address from Morocco, where he is recovering from a stroke, “reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out of the responsibilities of his office”.

In one of his first television appearances since he suffered the stroke in Saudi Arabia in October, Bongo, 59, slurred his speech and he appeared unable to move his right arm. It is unclear if he is able to walk. He has been in Morocco since November to continue treatment.

Outside the radio station, loyalist soldiers fired teargas to disperse about 300 people who had come out into the streets to support the coup attempt, a Reuters witness said. Helicopters circled overhead.

Most of the beachside capital was quiet, however, and a government spokesman said the situation was under control after the arrests. “The government is in place. The institutions are in place,” Mapangou told France 24.

The Bongo family has ruled the oil-producing country since 1967. Bongo has been president since succeeding his father, Omar, who died in 2009. His re-election in 2016 was marred by claims of fraud and violent protest.

The economy was long buoyed by oil revenues, much of which went to a moneyed elite while most of the two-million population live in deep poverty. In Libreville, expensive western hotels overlook the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the capital’s hillside shanties to the east.

A sharp drop in oil production and prices in recent years has squeezed revenues and stoked discontent. Oil workers’ strikes have become increasingly common.

The international community condemned the coup attempt, including former colonial ruler France which urged its 8,900 citizens registered in Gabon to avoid moving around Libreville.

“Gabon’s stability can only be ensured in strict compliance with the provisions of its constitution,” French foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said.

In a tweet on Monday, African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat reaffirmed “the AU’s total rejection of all unconstitutional changes of power.”

In a video on social media, Ondo is seen in a radio studio wearing military fatigues and a green beret as he reads the statement. Two other soldiers with rifles stand behind him.

Ondo said the coup was being carried out by a group called the Patriotic Movement of the Defence and Security Forces of Gabon against “those who, in a cowardly way, assassinated our young compatriots on the night of August 31, 2016,” a reference to violence that erupted after Bongo was declared winner of the disputed election.

Bongo won the poll by fewer than 6,000 votes, sparking deadly clashes between protesters and police during which the parliament was torched.

The military officer said the coup attempt was carried out by one unit under the command of a high-ranking officer but that other units were monitoring the situation.

“President Bongo’s record as defense minister under his father lowers the possibility that current military leadership is supportive of his ouster,” said Judd Devermont of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

France has a permanent force of 300 soldiers in Gabon. The United States also sent about 80 soldiers to Gabon last week in response to possible violence in Democratic Republic of Congo after a presidential election there.

Bongo and members of his government have faced repeated suspicions by foreign governments of corruption. They have denied the accusations. During his father’s rule, Gabon was a pillar of “La Francafrique”, a web of diplomacy, trade and French military might giving French companies favored access to African autocrats.

Gabon’s dollar-denominated sovereign debt tumbled in early trading, with both outstanding bonds losing around 3 cents in the dollar. However, prices recovered in late morning, with bonds trading around half a cent lower.

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