Benin: Arrest and subsequent release of Chabi Yayi, son of former President Thomas Boni Yayi

The opposition party “Les Démocrates” announced on the evening of December 15, 2025, the release of Chabi Georges Nadjim Yayi, National Secretary for External Relations of the party and son of former President Thomas Boni Yayi.
Arrested during the night of December 14 at his home in Cotonou, he was released following an interrogation, without formal notification of charges at this stage.

This arrest takes place within a political context marked by the attempted coup d’état of December 7, 2025, briefly announced on national television before the movement failed against loyalist forces.

Since this incident, authorities have launched an intensified security and judicial sequence, leading to multiple arrests and proceedings targeting allegedly involved military personnel as well as political figures, including Candido Azannai, former Minister of Defense and opposition figure, arrested on December 12.

At this stage, no formal link has been publicly established between Chabi Yayi’s arrest and this destabilization attempt.
His rapid release constitutes a temporary signal of appeasement, without dispelling all questions regarding the framework and clarity of actions undertaken in a still-sensitive political climate.