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Togo has extradited Burkina Faso’s former transitional president, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, to his home country, where authorities accuse him of involvement in multiple attempted coups, the Togolese government said on Tuesday.
Damiba seized power in Burkina Faso in January 2022 but was removed nine months later in a coup that brought the current junta leader, Ibrahim Traore, to power.
Since his exile in Togo, Burkina Faso’s military authorities have repeatedly accused Damiba of plotting coups and assassination attempts, including allegations made earlier this month.
Togo’s Justice Minister Pacome Adjourouvi said Damiba was arrested in the capital, Lomé, on January 16 “in execution of an arrest warrant accompanied by an extradition request” sent by Burkinabe authorities four days earlier.
According to the statement, Damiba was “handed over to the authorities” in Ouagadougou the day after his arrest.
He is being prosecuted on charges including “criminal embezzlement of public funds, criminal illicit enrichment, corruption, incitement to commit offences and crimes, aggravated concealment and money laundering,” the justice ministry said.
Adjourouvi said the extradition was authorised after Burkina Faso provided “guarantees” regarding Damiba’s physical integrity and his right to a fair trial.
He added that the decision also took into account the “absence of the death penalty” in the case, in spite of Burkina Faso’s recent move to reinstate capital punishment for crimes of high treason.
He also noted the “absence of the death penalty” even though Burkina Faso recently reinstated it for crimes of high treason.
During a cabinet meeting on 04 December 2025, the Burkinabe government adopted a draft bill to reform the Penal Code, which includes reinstating the death penalty for certain offences such as “high treason,” “terrorism,” and “acts of espionage”, as announced by the Burkinabe government’s information service. The bill must be approved by the Transitional Legislative Assembly.
The death penalty has been abolished in Burkina Faso’s Penal Code since 2018. The last recorded execution in the country was in 1988.
