The commander of the Republican Guard, a former minister and a businessman close to the president are the alleged ringleaders of the attempt
September 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Benin authorities have arrested Republican Guard commander Dieudonné Tévouedjré, influential businessman Olivier Boko — close to President Patrice Talon — and former Sports Minister Oswald Homeky for allegedly planning a coup planned for this Friday.
The special prosecutor of the Court for the Suppression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET), Mario Metonou, explained in a press conference that six bags full of money had been seized from Homeky’s house, according to the Benin Web TV channel.
These bags of money contained around 500 million CFA francs (about 76 million euros) out of a total of 1.5 billion CFA francs (almost 230 million euros) promised to the commander to carry out the coup.
The three suspects were arrested between the night of 23 and 25 September after being accused of “endangering state security” and the authorities are continuing their investigations to arrest all those possibly involved.
The prosecutor said that on 6 August a bank account was opened in the name of Tévouedjré in Ivory Coast with a balance of 105 million CFA francs (around 16 million euros), but that he was eventually promised cash to further convince him.
Government spokesman Léandre Houngbédji has called for “trust in the judiciary” to “clarify” the situation and the details. Boko’s lawyers have denounced the arrest process, which is that he was intercepted on Monday night by an unmarked vehicle while he was accompanied by his wife.
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