Guinea-Bissau's police arrested an opposition lawmaker during a "mystic ceremony" involving "sacrifices" intended to increase a coup d'etat's chance of success, a security source told AFP on Wednesday.
But a rights advocate suggested the reason for Flavio Batica Ferreira's Sunday detention "must be political", adding that the deputy had earlier told his family his security was under threat.
Ferreira, who is of dual Bissau-Guinean and French nationality, was arrested near Pitche at the border with neighbouring Guinea-Conakry.
A source close to the lawmaker for the African Party for the opposition Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) told AFP he has since been detained at the interior ministry in the capital Bissau.
'Rumours of coup'
He was arrested along with a popular seer and two others, the same source added.
"Rumours of a coup abound. Those who want to instigate them organise mystical ceremonies and make sacrifices to ensure their success," the security source said.
That source added the authorities were on alert and following developments.
The interior ministry has not given a reason for Ferreira's arrest and did not wish to respond to an AFP request for comment.
Political standoff
"We were told that he is at the Ministry of the Interior following his arrest during a traditional ceremony. I believe the reason must be political," Abubacar Ture of the Bissau-Guinean Human Rights League told Portuguese radio.
While conceding he was "not yet certain" of that fact, Ture said "the deputy had reported to relatives that his safety was threatened".
The arrest comes as Ferreira's PAIGC is currently embroiled in a political standoff with its longtime rival President Umaro Sissoco Embalo over the length of his term in office.
For the PAIGC Embalo's mandate ends on February 27, five years to the day after he took office in 2020 following a contested election.
Postponed elections
Yet the Supreme Court has ruled his term ends on September 4, which the PAIGC-led opposition disputes.
In December 2023 Embalo dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament, days after clashes he claimed were an attempted coup, and has since postponed fresh legislative elections indefinitely by decree.
Guinea-Bissau has been hit with a series of coups since its independence from Portugal declared in 1973.
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