Benin authorities have jailed about 30 people, most of them soldiers, over their alleged involvement in a failed coup attempt earlier this month, according to legal sources.
The suspects were brought before a special prosecutor at the court for economic crimes and terrorism in Cotonou on Monday. They were subsequently placed in pre trial detention on Tuesday, December 16, and are facing charges including treason, murder and endangering state security. Heavy security was deployed around the court during the proceedings.
The attempted coup occurred on December 7, when mutinous soldiers appeared on national television claiming that President Patrice Talon had been overthrown. The plot was quickly crushed by loyalist forces, with support from the Nigerian air force and French special forces. Several people were reportedly k!lled during the incident. The alleged ringleader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, along with other mutineers, remains at large.
In a related development, Chabi Yayi, the son of former Beninese president and opposition leader Thomas Boni Yayi, was released on Monday after being questioned. Although he has regained freedom of movement, he remains under prosecution in connection with the coup attempt and is expected to report again to police later this week, judicial sources said.
Authorities have also widened their crackdown to include other opposition figures and activists. The Cotonou Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a two year prison sentence against online activist Steve Amoussou, accused of operating a social media account critical of the government. Former defence minister and prominent opposition figure Candide Azannai was arrested on Friday, though it remains unclear whether his detention is directly linked to the coup attempt, which he publicly condemned.
Benin has also issued an international arrest warrant for Pan Africanist influencer Kemi Seba, accusing him of supporting the failed putsch. In his absence, he is being prosecuted for advocating crimes against state security and inciting rebellion. Reacting online, Seba said, “we shall see this fight through to the end”.
President Talon, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, is due to leave office in April after completing the maximum two terms. While praised by supporters for driving economic growth, critics accuse his administration of authoritarian tendencies. Attention is now turning to the succession, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni widely seen as the frontrunner, after the main opposition party was excluded from the ballot over sponsorship requirements.
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