Nigeria, Sept. 5 -- The Nigerian government has rejected Sunday's toppling of the Alpha Conde regime in Guinea.

The country's foreign ministry on Sunday said the putsch was a violation of the ECOWAS protocol to which Guinea is signatory to.

"The Nigerian government is saddened by the apparent coup d'etat that has taken place in the Republic of Guinea today, in clear violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance," the ministry said in a statement.

"The government of Nigeria strongly condemns and rejects any unconstitutional change of government and therefore calls on those behind the coup to restore constitutional order without delay and protect lives and property."

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