Benin authorities have jailed around 30 people, mostly soldiers, for their alleged involvement in a failed coup earlier this month, legal sources report.
The suspects appeared before a special prosecutor at the court for economic crimes and terrorism in Cotonou on Monday and were placed in pre-trial detention on Tuesday, December 16. They face charges including treason, murder, and endangering state security, with heavy security deployed around the court during proceedings.
The attempted coup took place on December 7, when mutinous soldiers appeared on national television claiming President Patrice Talon had been overthrown. Loyalist forces quickly crushed the plot, with support from the Nigerian air force and French special forces. Several people were reportedly killed, while the alleged ringleader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, and other mutineers remain at large.
In a related development, Chabi Yayi, son of former Beninese president and opposition leader Thomas Boni Yayi, was released on Monday after questioning. Although freed, he remains under prosecution and is expected to report to authorities later this week.
Authorities have also extended their crackdown to 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 running a social media account critical of the government. Former defence minister and opposition figure Candide Azannai was arrested on Friday, though it is unclear if his detention is linked directly to the coup, 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. He is being prosecuted in absentia for advocating crimes against state security and inciting rebellion. Seba responded online, saying, “we shall see this fight through to the end.”
President Talon, constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, is set to leave office in April after completing two terms. While praised by supporters for driving economic growth, critics accuse his administration of authoritarianism. Attention is now turning to succession, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni widely seen as the frontrunner after the main opposition party was barred from the ballot over sponsorship requirements.
