Coup Plot Foiled In Benin Republic!

Authorities foiled a coup attempt against Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi, an official statement said on Sunday [Mar. 3]. An army officer and several others were arrested for their attempt to prevent Yayi from returning home from a trip and establish a military regime, according to the statement by Justin Gbenameto, prosecutor of the West African country. The prosecutor said he was informed of the attempt to force the president in exile on Feb. 22 and set up an investigation commission to shed light on the plot. "According to the initial information I've received, the idea of the coup by force was to prevent the head of state to return to Cotonou after his voyage (in Equatorial Guinea)," Gbenameto said in the statement. Yayi went to Equatorial Guinea to attend an Africa-South America summit in late February. Among the arrestees are Col. Pamphile Zomahoun and businessman Johannes Dagnon, according to the prosecutor. President Yayi is currently on a five-day visit to Japan to seek support for stability in the Sahel region, which is on the southern edge of Africa's Sahara desert and has been frequented by cells of Al-Qaida's North African branch AQIM. Benin is the latest hit by coups or coup attempts in recent years in Africa's French-speaking countries.