Benin issues arrest warrant for prominent activist after coup foiled

Benin issued an arrest warrant Friday for anti-Western activist Kemi Seba for "inciting rebellion" after he supported a foiled coup over the weekend.

On Sunday morning, as mutinous soldiers claimed on television to have overthrown President Patrice Talon, Seba posted a video declaring it was "the day of liberation" for his country.

The coup attempt was thwarted later that day.

Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, 44, heads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is known for his radical tirades against France and African governments allied with Paris.

He has 1.5 million followers on social media.

Born Franco-Beninese, Seba was stripped of his French nationality in 2024 and openly supports the military juntas that came to power through coups in the Sahel region -- hostile to Paris and close to Russia.

"Benin is liberated. Patriotic, dignified, courageous soldiers aligned with the voice of popular sovereignty -- those who rise every day for dignity -- have taken responsibility; they have arrested President Talon," he said in the video.

However, Talon -- backed by the Beninese army -- was never detained, and the coup was thwarted during the day with support from Nigeria and France.

Kemi Seba's lawyer, Juan Branco, declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Pan-Africanism is a global movement that calls for solidarity, or even political union, between all people of African ancestry. It has been cited as a factor in struggles of African independence movements against colonial powers including France.