BENIN REPUBLIC ARRESTS THREE MEN OVER SUSPECTED ‘COUP’ PLOT
Read Time:2 Minute, 12 Second
Benin authorities announced Wednesday that three important men, including a presidential guard commander, had been arrested on suspicion of plotting a “coup d’etat” in the small West African country.
The other two people accused of staging a coup are a former sports minister and a businessman close to President Patrice Talon.
Elonm Mario Metonou, the special prosecutor at Benin’s court for financial crimes and terrorism, stated that the purported coup was scheduled to take place Friday.
“It appears the Republican Guard commander in charge of the president’s security was engaged by the minister Oswald Homeky and Olivier Boko in order to carry out a coup by force on September 27, 2024,” the prosecutor said.
READ ALSO:
According to the court, Homeky was caught about 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday while delivering six bags of cash containing 1.5 billion West African CFA francs ($2.5 million) to the commander, Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre.
Boko, a long-time friend of President Patrice Talon, was arrested separately overnight Monday and Tuesday in Cotonou, Benin’s commercial hub, according to the court.
He had recently been signalling that he will run for president in 2026, when Talon’s second term in office finishes and he is barred from standing again by the constitution.
Homeky resigned as sports minister in 2023 after asking supporters to back Boko’s attempt to succeed Talon.
Boko’s lawyers and supporters denounced what they called his “abduction” and called for his immediate release.
“As this press conference is being held, it is not possible for his family or us, his lawyers, to know where and in what condition is Mr Boko, who likely does not have access to food and above all his medications,” the collective said.
Boko’s Objectif Benin 2026 (“Target Benin”) support group — a nod to his initials — also condemned the arrest as “a serious violation of fundamental rights” and “obvious political persecution”.
Once seen as a thriving multi-party democracy, Benin has become increasingly authoritarian since Talon came to power in 2016, critics say.
In August, an online critic of the president, Steve Amoussou, was detained and ordered to stand trial later this year on allegations of publishing falsehoods and “inciting rebellion”, judicial sources told AFP.
Benin’s security forces have been on high alert after a series of attacks linked to violence from a jihadist uprising with origins in the Sahel region that has spilt across its borders.
Along with nearby Mali, neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger have all been hit by military coups following years of insecurity linked to jihadist violence.
AFP
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0