Two men close to Benin's president jailed after alleged coup plot

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COTONOU, Bénin (AP) — Two men close to Benin's president who were arrested last week on suspicions of plotting a coup in the small West African country were remanded in custody ahead of their trial, one of their lawyers said 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,” according to the lawyer, Ayodele Ahounou.

Both men were arrested after being accused of bribing the commander in charge of the president’s security to carry out 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 man,” is accused of being the mastermind behind the coup attempt and was arrested separately in Benin's capital Cotonou. He had recently expressed interest in being a candidate in the country’s 2026 presidential election.

Both men were placed in pre-trial detention, Ahounou said.

Benin has been among the most stable democracies in Africa, but President Patrice Talon is accused of using the justice system to attack his political opponents after taking office in 2016 and changing electoral rules to enable him to consolidate power in 2021.

Following his reelection three years ago, Talon promised not to seek a third term in office in the 2026 election. Benin's constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two.