Burkina Faso: Paul-Henri Damiba arrested in Togo and expelled to Ouagadougou

The former president of Burkina Faso’s transition, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was arrested in Togo and then expelled to Ouagadougou, according to several corroborating sources.

This operation comes amid a tense political context, marked by recent accusations of an attempted coup d’état leveled by the Burkinabè military junta.

According to reports, Damiba, who had been living in exile in Lomé since his ouster from power in September 2022, was apprehended on Friday, January 16, 2026, at his residence in the Lomé 2 district. He was then brought before the Togolese Court of Appeal, which ruled in favor of the extradition request filed by Ouagadougou authorities.

On Saturday, January 17, escorted by military personnel, Damiba was taken to the airport before being expelled to Burkina Faso, where he was taken into the custody of Burkina Faso security services. His final destination was, at this stage, confirmed as Ouagadougou by several sources close to the case.

This transfer brings to an end nearly three years in exile for Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had been toppled by Captain Ibrahim Traoré after having himself seized power in January 2022 in a coup d’état.

The Burkinabè transitional authorities accuse Damiba of being the main instigator of a destabilization attempt that occurred on January 3, 2026, including plans to eliminate civilian and military authorities. Supporters of the junta say that the ex-president of the transition orchestrated, from abroad, contacts, recruitments, and the mobilization of funds to carry out this operation, accusations that Damiba has not publicly commented on.

At this stage, neither the Togolese authorities nor those of Burkina Faso have issued an official detailed statement on this extradition. The former head of the transition is now under the jurisdiction of Ouagadougou authorities, who could prosecute him for high treason and threats to state security, with potentially very heavy sanctions given the political and legal context in force in the country.