By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The military government in Guinea-Bissau on Friday freed a prominent opposition leader from jail after spending months in detention.
Domingos Simoes Pereira was one of several senior politicians imprisoned by the military after it seized power in November, overthrowing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo just days after a hotly contested presidential elections.
The junta claimed it acted in order to prevent bloodshed between supporters of rival candidates and announced it was taking control of the west African country for a period of one year.
Pereira had been barred from contesting in the election.
While the coup took place before official election results were released, both his preferred candidate, Fernando Dias, and Embalo had claimed victory.
Embaló after he was ousted fled the country.
Following his release on Friday, Pereira was accompanied to his home on the outskirts of the capital Bissau by security forces and the visiting Senegalese defence minister.
Guinea-Bissau has repeatedly experienced instability since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, with only one president ever completing a full term in office.
