# Boko–Homeky Coup Plot (2024)

URL: https://allhistories.com/benin/timeline/2024-boko-homeky-coup-plot
Location: Cotonou, Littoral, Benin
Themes: main-event

Olivier Boko, a wealthy businessman, was for years President Talon's closest friend and confidant and an influential figure behind the scenes of the regime. In 2024 he was widely spoken of as a possible presidential candidate in 2026, a prospect that strained his relations with Talon. Oswald Homeky had served as minister of sport in Talon's government. On 24 September 2024 the public prosecutor at the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET) announced that Boko and Homeky had been arrested for plotting a coup planned for 27 September. According to the prosecution, Homeky had been arrested in the act of handing bags containing about 1.5 billion CFA francs to the commander of the Republican Guard, Colonel Dieudonné Djimon Tévoédjrè, whom the alleged conspirators sought to recruit, and who had reported the approach. Boko was arrested the same night in Cotonou. After a trial before the CRIET, the court sentenced Boko, Homeky and Boko's associate Rock Nieri to 20 years in prison at the end of January 2025, along with heavy fines and damages of 60 billion CFA francs. Their lawyers denounced a political trial. The affair revealed fractures within Talon's inner circle ahead of the succession of 2026. At this point in the timeline (24 September 2024), the President of the Republic of Benin was Patrice Talon (23 May 2021 – 24 May 2026).

## Why it matters
The Boko–Homeky affair exposed rivalries within the ruling camp ahead of the 2026 succession.

Ruler at the Time: [Patrice Talon](https://allhistories.com/benin/rulers/patrice-talon-2016)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Oswald Homeky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Homeky)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Benin coup plot 2024](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Benin+coup+plot+2024)
- [Africa24 — Boko, Homeky and Nieri sentenced](https://africa24tv.com/?p=140678)
- [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/where/benin/)
- [Wikipedia — The Talon Era (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrice_Talon)