To mark the first anniversary of the Popular Progressive Revolution (RPP), Burkina Faso's President, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, gave an interview to the national and international press. In this interview, he discussed the extradition of his predecessor, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, last January.

 

"He has entered a spiral where he must destroy us at all costs."

 

He said he never wanted to worry the native of Ouagadougou, but the latter was stubbornly determined to overthrow his power, even going so far as to plan mass assassinations.

 

“There have been several attempts by him since he went to Togo. We did not seek to extradite him. Often we would tell the Togolese authorities: ‘This is what he is doing, he needs to be advised,’ because when he left we did not seek to conduct a witch hunt…He should have gone quietly to settle in Togo, but unfortunately he has entered into a spiral where he must destroy us at all costs,” said Captain Traoré.

 

He continued: “We tried to contain (his ambitions) but when you look at the latest attempts (to destabilize), there are some very serious things. He was telling those who were supposed to carry out the operations and everything that there would be many deaths. They just have to kill as many as possible, because to achieve their goal they have to kill. They have links with terrorists who will kill many to keep the units busy so they can't come to Ouagadougou to support us.”

 

"What we discovered is that it involves many countries, countries we didn't suspect, that were supposedly friends ."

 

Faced with such an undertaking, action was legitimately necessary, Captain Traoré asserts. His government therefore provided evidence to the Togolese authorities, who then arrested and questioned Damiba. According to the President of Burkina Faso, Damiba did not deny the allegations.

Investigations are currently underway to identify all individuals and entities involved in 'this latest project to destabilize the country'.

“It’s a very complex case, because there are many things surrounding it. What we’ve discovered is that it involves many countries, countries we didn’t suspect, that were supposedly friends of Burkina Faso. It involves many people, many prominent figures around the world, and we understand that there was a large machine behind it. In any case, a judge has already seen it; it’s serious, very serious. It has given us a lot of information, a lot of lessons,” the Burkinabe leader stated.