Benin Republic’s state prosecutor has announced the arrest of three prominent men on suspicion of planning a “coup d’etat” in the country.
Mario Metonou, special prosecutor at Benin’s financial crimes and terrorism court made the announcement at a press conference.
He said former sports minister Oswald Homeky, Republican Guard commander Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre, and Olivier Boko, a businessman close to President Patrice Talon, were detained on charges of plotting a coup.
“It appears that the Republican Guard commander in charge of the president’s security was engaged by Homeky and Boko to carry out a coup d’etat by force on Sept. 27,” the prosecutor said.
Homeky was detained on Tuesday while handing over six bags of cash totaling 1.5 billion CFA francs (2.5 million U.S. dollars) to Tevoedjre, the prosecutor said.
Investigations are ongoing to identify further suspects, he added.