By Lucy Adautin
Diplomatic tensions between Benin and Niger intensified on Friday as a Benin court jailed three Nigeriens who were detained last week at a port, according to judicial sources.
Relations between Benin and Niger have been strained since last year’s coup that ousted Nigerien President Mohammed Bazoum, with Benin’s Seme-Kpodji port, which exports Niger’s oil being a focal point of the conflict.
Five Nigeriens were arrested last week at Seme-Kpodji for allegedly entering the port illegally.
Among the five, three individuals, including the deputy general director of the oil company Wapco-Niger, were jailed on Thursday after appearing before a judge, several judicial sources informed AFP. Their trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 17.
“Two of them were released,” one of the judicial sources said.
Under regional sanctions imposed on Niger following the coup, Benin had initially closed its border but has since reopened it, while Niger’s military rulers have kept their side closed.
Last week, Benin announced on national television that it was lifting a “blockade” on Nigerien oil.
Beninese President Patrice Talon had long insisted that the loading of Nigerien oil would only commence once the border was reopened.
Despite the efforts of the Chinese company Wapco, which manages the pipeline, these initiatives have been unsuccessful.
Beninese authorities revealed that at least two of the five individuals arrested on June 5 were not employees of Wapco-Niger but were identified as “Nigerian agents” who had entered the site with fake badges.
According to officials in Niamey, the team was on a mission in Benin to oversee the oil loading process.
The military regime in Niger described the arrests as a “kidnapping” and expressed readiness to “take all measures” to secure their unconditional release.
In response to the arrests, the military regime in Niamey closed the valves of the oil pipeline the following day, as announced on Nigerien public television on Thursday.
Niger’s military rulers also accused Benin of hosting “French bases” in its north to “train terrorists” aimed at destabilizing Niamey, accusations which have been denied by both France and Benin.
