BENIN’S first ever female presidential candidate has been arrested for allegedly “planning to assassinate several political figures,” a government spokesman said on Monday evening.  

Reckya Madougou was arrested last Wednesday in the capital Porto-Novo, authorities said. Another opposition candidate, Joel Aviv, fled the scene.

Government spokesman Alain Orounla claimed that Ms Madougou, who leads the Democrats party, had planned to assassinate a number of her political rivals, adding that it was “a very serious offence of terrorism.

“Compatriots who were preparing to commit crimes have designated Reckya Madougou as their sponsor,” Mr Orounla said.

Her lawyer Renaud Agbodjo said that she was indicted for “financing terrorism,” although no date has been set for a trial.

Ms Madougou’s candidacy in the April 11 presidential poll was rejected by the electoral commission on Thursday as she had failed to garner the required signatures of support from 16 mayors or MPs.

Only three of the 20 candidates that submitted papers to the commission have been approved to stand in next month’s election.

Benin has had a turbulent political history. A series of coups culminated in Mathieu Kerekou taking power in 1972. 

He changed the country’s name to the People’s Republic of Benin and nationalised key sectors of industry.

But Mr Kerekou moved away from Marxism-Leninism, first converting to Islam and later becoming a born-again Christian.

He finally relinquished office in 2006, when he was barred from seeking re-election.

Critics warn that the west African state is once again veering towards authoritarianism under President Patrice Talon, who came to power in 2016, with many opposition figures forced into exile.

They include Sebastien Ajavon, who came in third in the last election. He was convicted of drug trafficking in 2018 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but now lives in exile in France. 

He was sentenced in absentia on Monday to five years in jail for forgery and fraud.