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Benin Republic has placed former defence minister and prominent opposition politician Candide Azannai in pre-trial detention as part of an investigation into the West African country’s failed early December coup.
According to AFP on Saturday, Azannai was accused of plotting against the state and incitement to rebellion, after being arrested last week at his party’s headquarters in Cotonou in the wake of the attempted takeover.
After hours of questioning at Benin’s anti-terrorism court, Azannai was taken into custody at dawn, an AFP reporter said.
The detention of a prominent opposition figure who condemned the recent coup attempt is the latest development after some 30 people, mostly soldiers, were jailed on Tuesday on treason charges.
On December 7, soldiers announced on national television that they had overthrown President Patrice Talon, but loyalist forces, with support from the Nigerian Air Force, swiftly crushed the attempted takeover.
Several people were killed, while some mutineers, including alleged coup leader Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, remain on the run.
While the president, Patrice Talon, has been praised for spurring economic growth, critics accuse him of creeping authoritarianism in a country once hailed for its democracy.
Talon is due to hand over the reins of power in April after hitting the two-term limit.
