Chabi Yayi, son of former Beninese president and current opposition figure Thomas Boni Yayi, was arrested early on Sunday at his home.
The ex-president’s son was detained a week after a foiled coup attempt in the country, although no reason was given for his arrest at the time of filing this report.
According to reports, “we don’t know if it is linked to the events of last Sunday,” a member of the Democrats Party, the main opposition party led by Yayi said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Boni Yayi condemned the abortive coup in a video address two days later.
Several arrests have taken place since the December 7 putsch attempt, including alleged participants, the former minister of defence, and key opposition figure Candide Azannai.
Azannai was placed in police custody for “conspiracy against the authority of the State and incitement to rebellion”.
Benin has also issued an international arrest warrant against pan-Africanist and anti-Western influencer Kemi Seba, who on Sunday responded defiantly in a video.
In a seven-minute statement, Seba said he had taken precautions following the issuance of the warrant against him, though he did not disclose which country he was in.
“You can never stop us,” he added. “We will go to the end of our fight.”
Benin issued the warrant on Friday for “inciting rebellion” over his support for the coup bid, which he described as the country’s “day of liberation”.
Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, 44, heads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is known for his hostile stance towards France and African governments allied with Paris.
He has 1.5 million followers on social media. Born Franco-Beninese, Seba was stripped of his French nationality in 2024. He supports the military juntas that came to power through coups in the Sahel region — hostile to Paris and close to Russia
He now travels on a passport issued by the military regime in Niger, which neighbors Benin.
Several of those who staged the failed coup, including their leader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, remain at large.
—AFP