Chabi Yayi, son of former Beninese president and current opposition figure Thomas Boni Yayi, was arrested early Sunday, December 14, at his home, according to several of his relatives.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

No reason was given for the arrest, which comes just a week after a foiled coup attempt in the country. “At this time, we don’t know what he is accused of,” one relative told AFP. Another close friend, who is a member of the Democrats party, the main opposition party led by Boni Yayi, said, “We don’t know if it is linked to the events of last Sunday.”

Former president Thomas Boni Yayi had condemned the abortive coup in a video address two days after the failed attempt.

Several arrests have been made since the December 7 putsch attempt. Among those detained is a former minister of defence and prominent opposition figure, Candide Azannai.

Azannai was placed in police custody on allegations of “conspiracy against the authority of the State and incitement to rebellion”.

Authorities have also issued an international arrest warrant against pan-Africanist and anti-Western influencer Kemi Seba.

On Sunday, Seba released a defiant video response to the warrant. In the seven-minute statement, he said he had taken precautions since the arrest order was issued, although he did not disclose his location.

“You can never stop us,” he said. “We will go to the end of our fight.”

Benin issued the warrant on Friday, December 12, accusing Seba of “inciting rebellion” over his public support for the failed coup attempt, which he described as the country’s “day of liberation”.

Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, is the head of the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is widely known for his hostility towards France and African governments aligned with Paris.

The 44-year-old influencer has more than 1.5 million followers on social media. Born Franco-Beninese, he was stripped of his French nationality in 2024.

Seba supports the military juntas that came to power through coups in the Sahel region, governments that are hostile to France and maintain close ties with Russia. He now travels on a passport issued by the military regime in Niger, which shares a border with Benin.

Meanwhile, several individuals involved in the failed coup attempt, including its alleged leader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, remain at large.

Notorious bandit leader Bello Turji has alleged that two former northern governors are responsible for fueling insecurity in the country, particularly in the North.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

Turji made this allegation in a viral video which surfaced on Sunday, accusing past political leadership in Zamfara and Sokoto states of laying the foundation for the region’s long-running insecurity.

According to the bandit leader, he has participated in a series of peace meetings with the Zamfara State government during the administration of a former governor of the state.

The bandit leader, however, denied claims that he received N30 million or any material inducement to participate in the process.

At the time of filing this report, efforts made to get the reaction of both former governors were unsuccessful.

According to Vanguard, several sources close to the former governors insisted that the words of a terrorist should not be taken seriously or believed.

“Why would anyone want to place a premium on the words of a terrorist? Is it not clear that the terrorist is just trying to present himself as a victim? It is all lies,” one of the sources said.

Turji further alleged that former administrations armed vigilante groups, popularly known as ‘Yan Banga,’ which he claimed disproportionately targeted Fulani communities and escalated violence.

He specifically mentioned former Sokoto State governor and his former Zamfara State counterpart, calling for their arrest and investigation over what he described as their roles in the crisis.

“We openly say that former governors of Zamfara and Sokoto states are responsible for the calamities that befell these states,” Turji claimed.

The Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State has said it was not informed of another primary reportedly conducted by a faction of the Accord Party in the state.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING

A faction of the Accord Party in Osun on Sunday reportedly held a primary election that produced Bamigbola Clement as its candidate for the August 8, 2026, governorship poll.

The exercise, held in Osogbo, the state capital, began with the accreditation of delegates.

A large contingent of armed police operatives was also observed around the venue.

Bamigbola, the only aspirant presented to delegates, confirmed his emergence.

“It is true. We had our primary, and I emerged the consensus candidate,” he told The PUNCH.

However, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in the state, Musa Olurode, said the commission was unaware of the parallel exercise.

“We have monitored the only Accord Party primary a few days ago. The report has been submitted. INEC is not aware of any other party’s primary,” Olurode said.

The PUNCH reports that Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, last Wednesday, emerged as the Accord Party candidate for next year’s poll.

Adeleke was the only aspirant in that primary, also held in Osogbo.

Announcing the result, Abdulazeez Salaudeen, Secretary of the electoral committee that conducted the primary, said Adeleke polled 145 votes out of 150 delegates drawn from the state’s 30 local government areas.

Five votes were voided.

“The electoral committee has delivered on its mandate. After voting and counting witnessed by the agents of the candidate and the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, having the highest number of votes, I declare Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the primary,” Salaudeen said.

Reacting to the factional primary, the caretaker Chairman of Accord Party in Osun State, Babalola Akande, said those who organised the exercise are not recognised by the party.

Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, Akande reiterated that Adeleke remains the duly nominated and lawful governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the state.

He said, “This position is incontestable, irreversible, and firmly grounded in law, having emerged through due process in accordance with the Constitution of the Accord, the Electoral Act 2022, and established judicial precedents,” he said.

He urged Osun residents to ignore the “distractions, which are the handiwork of politically displaced actors who, having been repeatedly rejected by the electorate, now resort to impersonation, falsehood, and institutional sabotage in a futile bid to return to power through the back door.

“We are hearing that the person being used for this purpose is a legal practitioner. That, to us, will make our job easy, as our party will stop at nothing but to report him to the appropriate authorities, including the LPDC.

“We therefore make bold to state that any institution or authority that accords recognition, protection, or legitimacy to such impostors or their activities does so at its own legal peril, as the Accord will promptly and decisively invoke necessary judicial intervention to protect its constitutional rights, internal democracy, and the sanctity of the ballot.

“For the final time, and for the sake of emphasis, by virtue of the valid primary election lawfully conducted on Wednesday, 10th December 2025, Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke is the sole and legally recognised governorship candidate of the Accord in Osun State. No parallel structure, no impersonator, and no contrived spectacle can alter this legal reality.”