Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, is a brigadier general in the Gabonese army. He was trained in Morocco. Some see him as a repeat offender when it comes to the Coup d’Etat. In fact, this high-ranking officer in the Gabonese armed forces has experienced ups and downs during his career, marked by a short crossing of the desert.
On January 7, 2019, a trio of soldiers from the Republican Guard stormed Gabonese national radio. Around 6:30 a.m., through the voice of Lieutenant Ondo Obiang Kelly, deputy commander of the honor guard company of the Republican Guard, a press release was read. The Gabonese then learned of the birth of the “National Restoration Council”, an entity claimed by the putschists. Very quickly, the manhunt was launched against the mutineers, by the forces remaining loyal to Ali Bongo. We then suspect Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of having favored this putsch, especially since he was already in Ali Bongo's entourage, as one of the pillars of his close guard. The coup failed thanks to the immediate response from the loyalists. It still remains that suspicions, and not the least, fall on Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma, then colonel. He is criticized at the very least for not having been able to anticipate this mutiny which could have had disastrous consequences for Gabon in general, and the physical security of the Bongos in particular.
A sanction will then follow. Colonel Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma is assigned as military attaché to the Gabonese embassy in Senegal for two years. He was subsequently recalled to Libreville. A few months later, he was appointed head of the intelligence service of the Republican Guard: the Directorate General of Special Services (DGSS). After only six months in this position, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is placed at the head of the Republican Guard, where he is once again in charge of Ali Bongo's close guard.
Promoted to this position, he created a special unit made up of more than 300 snipers, snippers who could be used to good effect, particularly against political opponents and their activists during electoral protests. It must be said that in this area, it has really not innovated, the other countries in the sub-region, notably Cameroon or Chad, have within their respective armies, specialized units for the same causes.
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