Benin issues warrants for 2 more suspects in 'poison plot'
PHOTO | SIA KAMBOU A file picture taken on January 3, 2011 shows Benin President Boni Yayi after his arrival at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan. Benin authorities have arrested an ex-minister as well as President Thomas Boni Yayi's doctor and the president's niece over an alleged attempt to poison the head of state, prosecutors said on October 22, 2012.
What you need to know:
- The new warrants issued late Tuesday target Patrice Talon, the alleged instigator of the plot and Yayi's former ally-turned-enemy, as well as Olivier Boko, a Talon associate
- Prosecutors say the president's niece, Zouberath Kora-Seke, and his physician Ibrahim Mama Cisse were promised one billion CFA francs (1.5 million euros, $2 million) to carry out the plot, with former commerce minister Moudjaidou Soumanou acting as an intermediary
- The motive for the alleged plot has not officially been made clear, but an aide to the president said on condition of anonymity that it may have involved lucrative contracts
COTONOU
Benin has issued arrest warrants for two more suspects over an alleged plot to poison President Thomas Boni Yayi, with his niece, doctor and an ex-minister already charged, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
The new warrants issued late Tuesday target Patrice Talon, the alleged instigator of the plot and Yayi's former ally-turned-enemy, as well as Olivier Boko, a Talon associate.
A judge "issued an international warrant of arrest against Mr Talon and another one against Mr Olivier Boko," public prosecutor Justin Gbenameto told AFP, with the two men believed to be outside of the country.
Talon is a businessman linked to the cotton industry who is believed to have helped finance Yayi's campaigns for office. The allegations against Boko were not yet clear.
Prosecutors say the president's niece, Zouberath Kora-Seke, and his physician Ibrahim Mama Cisse were promised one billion CFA francs (1.5 million euros, $2 million) to carry out the plot, with former commerce minister Moudjaidou Soumanou acting as an intermediary.
Talon allegedly discussed the plot with Kora-Seke and Cisse during Yayi's trip to Brussels between earlier this month. Both Kora-Seke and Cisse were part of the president's delegation.
The authorities announced the arrests of the three on Monday and described the alleged plot.
The Cotonou central commissioner, Philippe Houndegnon, also spoke of claims of plans to assassinate the doctor and the president's niece afterward to conceal the plot.
The plan did not materialise, with Kora-Seke speaking about it with others, who alerted the president, according to prosecutors.
The trio were formally charged on Monday with criminal conspiracy and attempted murder.
The motive for the alleged plot has not officially been made clear, but an aide to the president said on condition of anonymity that it may have involved lucrative contracts.
The aide said it may have been linked to a decision to end a monopoly for a company supplying materials for the cotton industry as well as a major port contract.
Both the port and cotton industries in the nation of some nine million people are major sectors of the economy.
The allegations have raised some suspicions in Benin that they are intended to smear the president's enemies.
Yayi, 60, is an economist who first took office in 2006 and won re-election last year with 53 percent of the vote.
