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Benin govt orders detention of opposition leader Azannai over alleged coup plot
Authorities in Benin on Saturday ordered the detention of former defence minister and opposition figure Candide Azannai as investigations continue into the failed coup attempt earlier this month.
Azannai, a well-known critic of the government, was taken into custody after he was accused of plotting against the state and inciting rebellion.
An AFP journalist reported that he was arrested last week at the headquarters of his political party in Cotonou, days after the attempted takeover.
The opposition leader has publicly condemned the coup attempt, but investigators allege he was linked to actions aimed at destabilizing the country.
His detention comes amid a wider crackdown following the failed coup. Earlier in the week, about 30 people, most of them soldiers, were remanded in custody on treason charges connected to the plot.
Soldiers announced on national television on December 7 they had toppled President Patrice Talon, but loyalist army forces swiftly defeated the coup plotters with the help of the Nigerian air force.
Several people were killed in the attempted uprising, while some of the mutineers, including alleged coup leader Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, remain on the run.
After several hours of questioning at Benin’s anti-terrorism court, Azannai was escorted away at dawn by police before being taken into custody, an AFP reporter saw.
While Talon has been praised for spurring economic growth, critics accuse the president of creeping authoritarianism in a country once praised for its democracy, while in recent years, Benin has been hit by jihadist violence in the north.
Talon is due to hand over the reins of power in April after hitting the two-term limit.
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