Chabi Yayi, the son of former Benin Republic president and current opposition politician Thomas Boni Yayi, was arrested early Sunday at his house, according to various family members.
No justification was given for the detention, which occurred a week after a failed coup attempt.
“At this time, we don’t know what he is accused of,” one relative told AFP.
“We don’t know if it is linked to the events of last Sunday,” said another close friend, a member of the Democrats party, the main opposition party, which Yahi heads.
Thomas Boni Yayi condemned the failed attempt in a video address two days later.
Since the attempted coup on December 7, several arrests have been made.
Among the suspected participants is Candide Azannai, a former minister of defense and significant opposition member.
Azannai was arrested for “conspiracy against the authority of the State and incitement to rebellion.”
Benin has also filed an international arrest order for pan-Africanist and anti-Western activist Kemi Seba, who responded defiantly via video on Sunday.
In a seven-minute message, Seba stated that he has taken precautions since the warrant was issued against him but did not specify which country he is 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” for his support for the coup attempt, which he called the country’s “day of liberation.”
Seba, 44, whose actual name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, runs the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is notorious for his hostility toward France and African states that support Paris.
He has 1.5 million followers on social media. Seba, who was born Franco-Beninese, lost his French nationality in 2024. He favors the military juntas that rose to power through coups in the Sahel region, which are unfriendly to Paris and close to Russia.
He now travels on a passport granted by the military dictatorship of Niger, which borders Benin.
Several of those who attempted the failed coup, including their leader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, are still at large.
