Togo says it has extradited Burkina Faso's former junta leader

Togolese authorities said Tuesday they have extradited Burkina Faso's former leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba following a request by the military government there.

The former junta leader has lived in Togo since his ouster in 2022. He is wanted in his country on suspicion of criminal embezzlement of public funds, incitement to commit crimes and other charges.

The Togo Ministry of Justice said the Lomé Court of Appeal decided to extradite Damiba “based on the offer of reciprocity from the Burkinabè authorities” and assurance that Damiba will not be facing the death penalty.

Damiba was arrested on Jan. 16. Earlier this month, the Burkina Faso junta said it had foiled a coup and alleged that Damiba was behind the plot.

Damiba, who led the West African nation between January and September 2022, was in turn deposed by current junta leader Ibrahim Traore as the country witnessed back-to-back coups.

The West African region has experienced a spate of army takeovers since 2020. Soldiers seized power on the pretext of a deteriorating security crisis as attacks by armed groups spread across the Sahel, an arid swath of land south of the Sahara, and spilled into the coastal region.

Burkina Faso is one of the three West African countries led by juntas that have also broken away from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc.