A contingent of Nigerian troops is expected in the country by May 18.

The Nigerian government on Monday May 14, 2012 announced that its troops for the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS peace-keeping force for Guinea Bissau will be deployed by Thursday May 18. The force is to oversee the reform of the local army and a gradual one-year transition to civilian rule after the April 12, 2012 coup.

Making the announcement in the capital, Abuja at the start of the 30^th meeting of the Committee of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence, the Minister of Defence, Dr Bello Mohammed said Nigerian troops will complement the one battalion the sub regional body had pledged to send to the country. According to The Punch newspaper of Nigeria, Dr Bello said all the troops and equipment were ready for airlift, adding that ECOWAS was yet to take a decision on whether it would send troops to Mali, another troubled member State.

The Agence France Presse, AFP news agency reported that the Minister did not however mention the size of the Nigerian contingent. West African leaders had decided at a summit in Cote d’Ivoire last April 26 to deploy between 500 and 600 troops in Guinea-Bissau, following the coup there. The ECOWAS contingent is intended to replace an Angolan force of similar size that had also been overseeing the reform of the army. The coup leaders justified their action by accusing the Angolans of meddling in local affairs.

According to Reuters news agency, the announcement of the decision was denounced by Guinea Bissau's main political party PAIGC, which wants an immediate return to civilian rule. It accused ECOWAS of giving legitimacy to the coup leaders. There was no immediate reaction on the deployment from the shadowy self-styled Military Command which carried out the coup. ECOWAS has said it believes Army Chief of Staff General Antonio Indjai was the coup leader but the Military Command denies this.

The tiny coastal State has been plagued with coups and unrest since its 1974 independence from Portugal and has become a major hub for Latin American cocaine being shipped into Europe. The United States and others have said that senior army officials are implicated in the trade.