Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba is under house arrest and one of his sons has been arrested for “treason”, military officers said Wednesday, hours after announcing they had overthrown the government.

In a statement read out on state TV, they said; “President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors.” 

Access24 reports that Gabonese army officers under the aegis of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions on Wednesday morning announced on national television why they are taking over power from President Ali Bongo in the country.

In a nationwide address rendered in French but translated to English by reporters, the junta said, “Our beautiful country, Gabon, has always been a haven of peace.

The soldiers highlighted serious institutional, political, economic and social crises as factors responsible for the coup that they tagged, ‘necessary’ for the progress of the West African country, as the junta resolved that all of the institutions of the country be dissolved including the Federal Government, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and the Gabonese Elections Centre.

They therefore called for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora.