Chabi Yayi, son of former Beninese president and current opposition figure Thomas Boni Yayi, was arrested early Sunday at his home, according to several of his relatives.
No reason was given for the arrest which comes a week after
the foiled coup attempt there.
“At this time, we don’t know what he is accused of,” one
relative told AFP.
“We don’t know if it is linked to the events of last
Sunday,” said another close friend, a member of the Democrats party, the main
opposition party, which Yahi heads.
Thomas Boni Yayi condemned the abortive coup in a video
address, two days later.
Several arrests have taken place since the December 7 putsch
attempt.
They include alleged participants, the former minister of
defence and key opposition figure Candide Azannai.
Azannai was placed in police custody for “conspiracy against
the authority of the State and incitement to rebellion”.
Benin has also issued an international arrest warrant
against pan-Africanist and anti-Western influencer Kemi Seba, who on Sunday
issued a defiant response on video.
In a seven-minute-long statement, Seba said he had taken
precautions since the issuing of the warrant against him, though he did not say
in which country he was.
“You can never stop us,” he added. “We will go to the end of
our fight.”
Benin issued the warrant on Friday for “inciting rebellion”
over his support for the coup bid, which he described as the country’s “day of
liberation”.
Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi,
44, heads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is known for his hostile stance
towards France and African governments allied with Paris.
He has 1.5 million followers on social media. Born
Franco-Beninese, Seba was stripped of his French nationality in 2024. He
supports the military juntas that came to power through coups in the Sahel
region — hostile to Paris and close to Russia.
He now travels on a passport issued by the military regime
in Niger, which neighbours Benin.
Several of those who staged the failed coup, including their
leader Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, remain at large.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com