Olayomi Koiki
Cotonou – A former sports minister and a prominent businessman in Benin Republic were detained on suspicion of plotting a coup, a special prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Ex-sports minister Oswald Homeky was caught after 1 a.m. on Tuesday while handing over six bags of cash to Djimon Tevoedjre, the head of the republican guard, who is also in charge of President Patrice Talon’s security, said Elonm Metonou, special prosecutor at Benin’s court for financial crimes and terrorism.
Investigators said they found that Homeky and Beninese businessman Olivier Boko had paid off the military commander to not resist a coup d’etat planned for Sept. 27.
Metonou said the bag contained 1.5 billion West African CFA francs (about $2.5 million).
Authorities said the suspects opened a bank account in Côte d’Ivoire under the commander’s name on August 6, adding that the money was transported in Homeky’s Toyota Prado, which bore fake license plates.
Olivier Boko, businessman and Talon’s longtime friend who was arrested separately on Monday, was in on the plot, according to the statement.
Boko was arrested in Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital. The businessman had recently started making known his plans to run for the presidency in 2026, when Talon’s second term in office ends.
According to investigators, Homeky and Boko paid off the military commander to not resist the planned coup.
Metonou said investigations are ongoing to arrest other suspects.
There have been eight military takeovers and several other coup attempts since 2020 in West and Central Africa, a region that had made strides to shed its reputation as a “coup belt” only for persistent insecurity and corruption to reopen the door to actions by military leaders.
Talon, who has led Benin since 2016, faces criticism for what critics say is becoming an increasingly authoritarian rule.
Some observers argue that his policies have eroded democratic standards in the country.