Three men in Benin, including a former minister and the man in charge of President Patrice Talon’s security, have been arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup, the state prosecutor has said.
It is alleged that the Ex-sports minister Oswald Homeky was caught on Tuesday while handing over six bags of money to the head of the Republican Guard Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre totalling 1.5 billion West African CFA francs ($2.5 million), the prosecutor told a press conference.
Investigators said Col Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre was being bribed not to resist a coup d’etat planned for Friday in the small West African nation.
Also detained was a businessman, Olivier Boko, known as a longtime friend of President Patrice Talon, who was arrested separately overnight Monday to Tuesday in Benin’s economic capital of Cotonou, the court said. It Is said that Boko had recently indicated that he had political ambitions. Stating that he would make a run for the presidency in 2026 when Talon’s second term in office ends and he is prohibited by the constitution from running again.
Mr. Boko’s lawyers and supporters condemned what they called his “abduction” and have demanded his immediate release.
Investigations are ongoing to identify further suspects, the prosecutor said.
In 2023, Homeky resigned as sports minister after urging support for Boko’s bid to succeed Talon.
Benin, once praised as a multi-party democracy, has taken a more autocratic turn under the presidency of Patrice Talon, rights groups say. President Talon announced he would not seek a third term in office in the 2026 elections.
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.
There have been eight military takeovers and several other coup attempts in West and Central Africa since 2020.
Benin prosecutors said Wednesday that three prominent men including a presidential guard commander have been arrested on suspicion of planning a “coup d’etat” in the small West African nation.
The other two accused of attempting a putsch 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, said the alleged coup was planned to take place on 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.
“As this press conference is being held, it is not possible for his family or us, his lawyers, to know where and what condition Mr. Boko is in, who likely does not have access to food and above all his medications,” they collectively 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”. 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.
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