COTONOU, Bénin (AP) — Two men close to Benin’s president who were arrested last week on suspicion of plotting a coup in the small West African country have been taken into custody ahead of their trial, one of the officials said their lawyers Tuesday.
Olivier Boko – a businessman and longtime friend of President Patrice Talon – and Oswald Homeky – a former sports minister – were charged with “conspiracy against state security, corruption of public funds and money laundering,” lawyer Ayodele Ahounou said.
Both men were arrested after being accused of bribing the commander in charge of the president’s security to stage a coup.
Homeky was caught on Tuesday while allegedly handing over six bags of money to the head of the Republican Guard, according to Elonm Mario Metonou, the special prosecutor at Benin’s court for financial crimes and terrorism.
Boko, often seen as Talon’s ‘right hand’, is accused of masterminding the coup attempt and was arrested separately in the Benin capital Cotonou. He had recently expressed interest in running for the country’s 2026 presidential elections.
Both men were placed in pre-trial detention, Ahounou said.
Benin is among Africa’s most stable democracies, but President Patrice Talon is accused of using the justice system to attack his political opponents after taking office in 2016 and changing election rules to allow him to take power in 2021 to consolidate.
After his re-election three years ago, Talon vowed not to seek a third term in the 2026 elections. Benin’s constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two.
