Chabi Yayi, son of former Beninese president and opposition leader Thomas Boni Yayi, was arrested early Sunday at his home, according to several relatives.
Authorities have not disclosed the reason for the arrest, which comes a week after a failed coup attempt in Benin.
“At this stage, we do not know what he is accused of,” one relative told AFP. Another close associate, a member of the Democrats party, the main opposition party led by Boni Yayi said it was unclear whether the arrest was linked to last Sunday’s events.
Former president Thomas Boni Yayi had condemned the attempted coup in a video address two days after it occurred.
Several arrests have been made since the December 7 coup attempt, including that of former defence minister and prominent opposition figure Candide Azannai. He was placed in police custody on charges of “conspiracy against the authority of the state and incitement to rebellion.”
Benin has also issued an international arrest warrant for pan-Africanist and anti-Western influencer Kemi Seba, who responded defiantly in a video message released on Sunday.
In the seven-minute statement, Seba said he had taken precautions following the issuance of the warrant, though he did not disclose his location. “You can never stop us,” he said. “We will go to the end of our fight.”
The warrant, issued on Friday, accuses Seba of “inciting rebellion” over his support for the coup attempt, which he described as Benin’s “day of liberation.”
Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, 44, leads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is known for his hostility toward 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 seized power in parts of the Sahel and is now travelling on a passport issued by Niger’s military authorities.
Several suspected coup plotters, including the alleged ringleader Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, remain at large.
AFP
