
Three prominent men have been arrested on suspicion of planning a coup d'etat scheduled for September 27, 2024 in Benin Republic.
The suspects include a presidential guard commander, a former sports minister, and a businessman closely linked to President Patrice Talon.
According to Elonm Mario Metonou, the special prosecutor at Benin’s court for financial crimes and terrorism, “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 court revealed that Oswald Homeky, the former sports minister, was apprehended around 1:00 am on Tuesday, September 24, while handing over six bags of cash totaling 1.5 billion West African CFA francs ($2.5 million) to the commander, Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre.
Olivier Boko, a businessman known as a longtime friend of President Talon and a potential 2026 presidential candidate, was detained separately overnight in Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital. Boko’s legal team and supporters have denounced his arrest as a breach of fundamental rights and an act of political persecution.
They stated, “As this press conference is being held, it is not possible for his family or us, his lawyers, to know where and in what condition is Mr. Boko, who likely does not have access to food and above all his medications.”
Boko’s support group, Objectif Benin 2026 (“Target Benin”), also condemned the arrest, calling it “a serious violation of fundamental rights” and “obvious political persecution.”
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