3 months ago
5
By AFP
20 August 2024 | 6:57 pm
An online critic of Benin's president, Patrice Talon, was detained on Tuesday and will stand trial later this year, accused of publishing falsehoods and "inciting rebellion," judicial sources told AFP. Steve Amoussou, or "Brother Hounvi," is well known in Benin for criticising the president on social media. He describes himself as a "fearless opponent" but…
An online critic of Benin’s president, Patrice Talon, was detained on Tuesday and will stand trial later this year, accused of publishing falsehoods and “inciting rebellion,” judicial sources told AFP.
Steve Amoussou, or “Brother Hounvi,” is well known in Benin for criticising the president on social media. He describes himself as a “fearless opponent” but is not officially a member of a political party.
He appeared before Cotonou’s Economic Crime and Terrorism Court (CRIET) accused of “inciting rebellion, initiating and publishing false news and harassment by electronic means,” judicial sources told AFP.
Benin was once seen as a thriving multi-party democracy, but critics say Talon has led the small West African state down an authoritarian path since coming to power in 2016.
Amoussou, whose Facebook page has 75,000 followers, had been living in neighbouring Togo for several years.
His lawyer Aboubakar Baparape said the blogger was seized in the suburbs of Togo’s capital Lome on August 12 and taken into police custody in Benin.
He will now be held in prison before his October 7 trial, the judicial sources said.
The Benin Bar Association of lawyers called it a “flagrant violation of our country’s legal standards” and called for transparency.
On Monday, lawmakers and opposition figures gathered at the CRIET court in a show of support before being dispersed by the police. Critics say the court has been used by Talon to crack down on opposition.
“Amoussou is not a delinquent or a cyber-criminal — his only crime is his determination to highlight the excesses of the regime,” Guy Mitopke of the main Democrats opposition party told reporters on Sunday.
NOW
An online critic of Benin's president, Patrice Talon, was detained on Tuesday and will stand trial later this year, accused of publishing falsehoods and "inciting rebellion," judicial sources told AFP. Steve Amoussou, or "Brother Hounvi," is well known in Benin for criticising the president on social media. He describes himself as a "fearless opponent" but…
1 hour ago
As traditionalists in the Southwest commemorate World Isese Day, their counterparts in Ondo State have appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to emulate his colleagues in the region by declaring a public holiday. The traditionalists, who gathered at the Adegbemile Cultural Centre in Akure to celebrate the day, also called for political officeholders to take oaths…
1 hour ago
Ugandan police arrested a man following the grisly discovery last month of 17 skulls in a shrine west of the capital Kampala, officials said Tuesday. Shocked villagers unearthed the remains, which police at the time said included three children's skulls, on July 28 in an underground chamber in Mpigi town, some 30 km (18 miles)…
2 hours ago
Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, the Regional Communication Manager, ExxonMobil, says there is no oil spill from its facility in Akwa Ibom. READ ALSO:ExxonMobil profits up after pioneer deal, Chevron earnings dip Udeagha said in a statement in Eket on Tuesday that no official report had identified the company’s facility as a potential source of any…
2 hours ago
The Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offenses, Enforcement Unit, has arrested four petroleum products hawkers at Mile-2 area and recovered over 2000 liters of the products. READ ALSO:Firm partners LASG on food sufficiency with M-Agric lottery service This is contained in a statement issued by the agency’s spokesperson, Mr Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, in…
3 hours ago
The Presidency has announced plans to cut down on federal government spending during the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference
3 hours ago
Amnesty International Nigeria has accused the federal government of unlawfully interfering with the functions of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). This was contained in a statement signed by Amnesty International Nigeria's Director, Isa Sanusi on Tuesday. The organisation said this following NLC’s threat to go on a nationwide strike should the police detain it's president…
3 hours ago
Femi Falana, counsel to the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has announced that Ajaero will honour the Nigeria Police Force’s invitation on Wednesday, August 29, 2024, due to a prior engagement scheduled before the invitation was received. The police had on Monday summoned Ajaero for questioning over allegations of terrorism financing,…
4 hours ago
A Nigerian national, Yomi Jones Olayeye, also known as "Sabbie," was arrested in New York on August 13, 2024, for allegedly conspiring to fraudulently obtain $10 million in COVID-19 unemployment benefits. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts under the Department of Justice revealed this in a statement posted on its website…
5 hours ago
The Arewa Concerned Citizens Forum (ACCF), has called for the establishment of the Nigerian Military Endowment Fund. READ ALSO:Arewa youth group seek support for 2 million barrels daily oil production The forum, in a statement signed by its co-founders, Alhaji Bello Usman and Dr Victor Bobai, in Kaduna on Tuesday, said that the…
English (US) ·