- Securities agencies of Equatorial Guinea acknowledged the help of Cameroonian security in foiling a coup attempt
- Reports say that the mercenaries involved in the coup attempt were recruited by opposition parties in the country
- The security minister of Equatorial Guinea, Obama Nchama, says that the mercenaries were armed with high-profile weapons
Securities authorities in Equatorial Guinea have recently disclosed that they foiled an attempted coup in December.
Not less than 30 armed men were arrested in Cameroon, near the border of Equatorial Guinea.
READ ALSO: Abductors of INEC officer’s wife reduce ransom to N1m
Security Minister Nicholas Obama Nchama revealed that the trained mercenaries were recruited by the opposition parties to overthrow the 40-year administration of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
He said foiling the coup attempt was made possible by Cameroonian securities authorities.
BBC reports that the alleged, unnamed mercenaries from Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic (CAR) were armed with rifles, launchers, rocket and large amounts of ammunition. Obiang's government is often accused of corruption and human rights abuses.
Earlier, a coup attempt by former British soldier Simon Mann 14 years ago was crushed.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Simon Mann was arrested in Zimbabwe in 2004 and extradited four years later to Equatorial Guinea, where he was sentenced to 34 years in prison.
However, one year later he was pardoned and released by Obiang.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his wife were detained by the military in a 'bloodless transition' of power - and the country's deposed vice-president had returned from exile.
Army boss, Major Gen SB Moyo said, President Mugabe and family were safe but army was ‘targeting criminals around him'.
The army commander claimed to have stepped in to calm political tensions over 93-year-old President Mugabe’s possible successor.
Ex-British MP Eric Joyce says Buhari is dead, do you support a military takeover? On NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng