Former Burkina Faso transitional president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been arrested in Togo and expelled from the country, according to multiple regional and international media reports citing Togolese and West African security officials.
Damiba was detained last week in Lomé, where he had been living in exile since being overthrown in September 2022, and was later escorted to the airport and put on a flight out of the country. Togolese authorities have not officially disclosed his destination, and no formal public statement has been issued by the government in Lomé regarding the arrest or expulsion.
Damiba, a former lieutenant colonel, seized power in January 2022 after leading a military coup that toppled democratically elected president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, citing worsening insecurity linked to jihadist violence. However, his rule lasted just eight months, as he was removed by a younger group of officers led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who accused him of failing to restore security and losing the confidence of the armed forces.
Since his ouster, Damiba had been living quietly in Togo, which had initially allowed him to remain on its territory under discreet diplomatic arrangements. His arrest and expulsion mark a sharp shift in that posture and appear to reflect growing pressure from Burkina Faso’s current military leadership.
According to regional security sources quoted by DW Africa and other outlets, the Burkinabè junta has accused Damiba of being linked to several alleged coup plots and efforts to destabilise the Traoré-led government from abroad. Ouagadougou has, in recent months, announced the foiling of multiple coup attempts, some of which it claims involved former officers operating from outside the country.
While no judicial proceedings against Damiba have been publicly detailed, officials in Burkina Faso have repeatedly suggested that exiled figures connected to past regimes are working with “foreign-backed networks” to undermine the current authorities. The arrest in Lomé is widely seen as part of a broader regional security calculus, as Sahelian military governments intensify efforts to neutralise perceived internal and external threats.
Togo, which often plays a mediating role in West African political crises, has walked a delicate line between diplomacy and security cooperation. Analysts say Damiba’s removal may reflect concerns that his continued presence in Lomé had become a liability, particularly amid rising instability across the Sahel and strained relations between military-led states and their neighbours.
Captain Traoré’s government, which has aligned Burkina Faso more closely with Mali and Niger under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), has taken an increasingly hard line against dissent, former political elites and alleged coup plotters. The junta argues that such measures are necessary to safeguard national sovereignty and maintain focus on combating insurgent groups.
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Human rights organisations, however, have warned that the expanding use of security powers and opaque detentions risk eroding legal safeguards and deepening political tensions. The lack of transparency surrounding Damiba’s arrest and expulsion is likely to fuel further debate about due process and regional norms.
As of now, Damiba’s whereabouts remain unclear, and neither his legal team nor Togolese authorities have issued official comments. The episode underscores the continuing volatility of Burkina Faso’s political landscape and the wider Sahelian power struggle, where former leaders, military factions and regional governments remain tightly entangled.
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