THE authorities in Republic of Benin have announced that an attempt to oust President Thomas Boni Yayi and install a military regime in the West African nation has been foiled.
In a statement read to journalists Sunday, State Prosecutor, Justin Gbenameto, said a Colonel and a businessman were arrested for plotting "to block the Head of State from returning to Cotonou after his trip and to institute a military regime."
Yayi, who recently completed a one-year term as chairman of the African Union (AU), had travelled to Equatorial Guinea last month for a summit with South American leaders. A report by Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted Gbenameto as saying that Col. Pamphile Zomahoun and prominent accountant and businessman, Johannes Dagnon, were in custody and investigations were continuing.
Meanwhile, opposition groups and Talon's lawyers have dismissed the allegations as an attempt by Yayi to sideline a former ally-turned rival. But Gbenameto told journalists Sunday that he was informed on February 22 by the security services of an attempted attack against the state.
An inquiry panel was then created "to shine light on the attempted coup d'etat," with investigations ultimately revealing that Zomahoun and Dagnon were involved in a plot to impose military rule, he said. While serving as the AU chair, Yayi pushed strongly for a West African force to launch an offensive against Islamist rebels in Mali.
The Guardian
Brilliant one from Benin Republic. Coups should be a thing of the past all over the world. It is not a positive move that should be encouraged