Five Nigerien nationals who presented themselves as officials of Wapco Niger were arrested by the Beninese police on Wednesday June 5 in Sèmè-Kpodji. The special prosecutor of the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (Criet) gave details this Thursday to the press.
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With our correspondent in Cotonou, Jean-Luc Aplogan
The five nationals were arrested on Wednesday June 5, 2024 in the evening at the Sèmè-Kpodji terminal site, 28 kilometers from Cotonou. According to the special prosecutor of Criet, Mario Metonou, who did not specify their identity, “ instead of using the main entrance and checking in at the gatehouse, these people preferred to use a back entrance located at the rear of the site. They benefited from the complicity of the General Administrator of Wapco Benin “.
All presented themselves as agents of the oil company Wapco Niger, wearing the company badge.
But the prosecutor asserts that “ the investigation formally established that at least two of these people are Nigerien agents in the service of the National Council for the Protection of the Fatherland (CNSP). They had fake badges made for the occasion. »
Arrest denounced by the Nigerien authorities
The prosecutor recalls that on Monday June 3, 2024, the Beninese Minister of Mines would have informed the administrator of Wapco Benin that due to the context, identity verification would be carried out more strictly for access to the site. Mario Metonou has not announced any prosecutions at this stage, “ investigations continue » indicated the magistrate.
According to our information, the five Nigerien nationals are in the custody of the judicial police.
According to Niger, among those arrested is the deputy general director of Wapco. There is no details on the identity of the other four people. During a press conference, the Nigerien Minister of Justice and that of Oil denounced this arrest and gave an ultimatum to Benin to release the five people and threatened to close the valves of the oil pipeline, at its point of release. departure to Koulélé.
Since June 1, 2024, a second boat has been in Beninese waters; we do not know if after this episode, it will be able to remove and load Nigerien crude as planned.
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