Nigeria has granted asylum to Guinea-Bissau presidential candidate Fernando Dias, days after a coup halted the announcement of the country’s election results.

Dias, 47, who contested under the Party for Social Renewal, had been under protection at the Nigerian embassy in Bissau after “threats made against” him, according to Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar.

He was the main challenger to Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was seeking a second term but has since left the country following the military takeover. Both Embaló and Dias had claimed victory in the 23 November poll.

A delegation from Ecowas is in Guinea-Bissau, urging the military to step aside and release the election results. The

The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the historic liberation party, had been barred from presenting a candidate in the election.

The coup occurred three days after voting ended. The military halted the electoral process, blocked the release of results, and said it intervened to stop an alleged plot to destabilise the country. The junta has since banned public demonstrations and prohibited any actions it says could threaten peace.

Tensions in Bissau remain high. PAIGC said heavily armed groups “illegally invaded” its headquarters. Party leader Domingos Pereira was arrested on the day of the coup, according to relatives and party officials.

Dias said he escaped his campaign office on the day of the coup when armed men arrived to arrest him.

Tuggar said President Bola Tinubu approved Dias’ protection inside the Nigerian embassy. “The decision to accommodate Mr Da Costa in the Nigerian premises underscores our firm commitment to safeguarding the democratic aspirations and the sovereign will of the good people of Guinea-Bissau,” he said in a letter to Ecowas Commission president Alieu Omar Touray. Nigeria also requested Ecowas soldiers be deployed to the embassy for added security.

Mediation talks on Monday between the Ecowas delegation, led by Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba, and the junta were tense. Kabba later told journalists that the discussions were “productive,” though “both parties expressed their concerns.”

The junta has already sworn in Gen Horta N’Tam as transitional leader for a one-year period. Ecowas has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all decision-making bodies until constitutional order returns.

The motive behind the coup is still unclear. Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan have both suggested the coup may have been staged, though neither provided evidence. Some civil society groups in Guinea-Bissau have also accused Embaló of organising a “simulated coup” to block the release of election results if he lost. Embaló has not responded to the allegations.

He was allowed to leave for Senegal on Thursday and later travelled to Congo-Brazzaville.

Guinea-Bissau, located between Senegal and Guinea, has experienced at least nine coups or attempted coups in the last 50 years and is widely known as a major drug-trafficking route. (BBC)