President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime says an early return to democratic governance will prevent Chad’s crisis from worsening, fearing that a tumultuous Chad could exacerbate Nigeria’s acute insecurity.

Chad’s President Idriss Deby was assassinated on Tuesday by a rebel group, which led to the emergence of his 37-year-old son, Lt.-Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby, as the head of interim government.

While calling for an urgent return to democracy in Chad, the Nigerian government warned that the vacuum created by Mr Deby’s death could cause an implosion.

Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, in a statement on Tuesday, urged stakeholders in Chad to explore dialogue to avoid “the evolving developments in Chad to feed into more chaos with its attendant consequences.”

Mr Onyeama stated, “An early return to democratic governance in Chad should be the ultimate goal, but the immediate objective is the stabilisation of Chad as well as the regions of ECCAS, ECOWAS, and the Sahel.”

He added, “(President Idriss Deby’s) demise could lead to vacuums that could implode in these subregions. Hence, the need to appeal to all stakeholders in Chad to embrace dialogue to resolve their differences in the interest of peace and the sustainable development of Chad.”

Mr Deby, 68, ruled the country for 31 years. He was on Monday declared winner of a presidential election held on April 11.