In Togo, the family of businessman Bertin Agba declares itself the victim of a post-mortem settling of scores

Aïssat Agba no longer knows how to respond to the persistent question of his three children: “When will daddy come home?” Cyrille, the husband of this Togolese woman who lives in the Paris region, has been languishing since July 25 in a cell 6,500 kilometers away in Togo. Director of a security company in Val-d’Oise, he is accused, along with two members of his family, of “conspiracy against the internal security of the State and financing of terrorism” and faces up to 20 years in prison.

“It’s a made-up story, his wife denounces, in tears. How could he have obtained approval for his security company in France if he had links to terrorists? All this doesn’t add up.”

The Agba family’s ordeal began in the early hours of July 25. Cyrille Agba, who had arrived a few days earlier in Lomé, the capital, without his family, was awakened by about fifteen armed men dressed in civilian clothes. Without even informing him of their reason for being there, they confiscated computers, cell phones, printers and took him away along with his nephew, Eddy Agba, and a cousin. At the same time, a few kilometers away, his sister-in-law, Françoise Agba, and the caretaker of his house suffered the same fate.

Interrogated without their lawyers present at the premises of the Central Criminal Investigation Service (SCRIC), three of them learned that they were suspected of attempting to overthrow the regime. A very serious charge in a country ruled with an iron fist for more than sixty years by the Gnassingbé family and whose current head of state, Faure Gnassingbé, had a new Constitution approved in May that would allow him to remain in charge of the country indefinitely.

“The Togolese regime is resentful and paranoid”

Those close to the Agba family believe that the target of this arrest is actually the embittered businessman Sow Bertin Agba, brother of Cyrille, who died a year earlier and is now in exile in South Africa. A successful security businessman, Sow Bertin Agba was at the centre of an international fraud case in 2011, which involved Loïk Le Floch-Prigent, former boss of Elf Aquitaine. Pursued by a wealthy Emirati close to the Togolese government, who accused him of having taken $48 million from him by posing as Minister of the Interior, Sow Bertin Agba admitted the facts.

Thanks to a provisional release, he fled the country. After a visit to Ghana, he was arrested by Interpol in Athens. Despite the dispatch of a Togolese delegation to extradite him, he managed to escape again. Residing in South Africa, Sow Bertin Agba died suddenly in May 2023, after having lunch at a restaurant in Johannesburg. “A poisoning planned by the Togolese authorities”, say some of his followers, not surprised by the raid against their loved ones.

“The Togolese regime is resentful and paranoid. By arresting the Agbas thirteen years after this story, it punished them as if there were a crime of kinship. How can we believe that his widow, Françoise, devastated by his death, is involved in destabilizing and terrorist activities? Pasting these accusations has become a weapon of power when it wants to eliminate enemies.” denounces an activist, who requested anonymity like many of those interviewed, for fear of reprisals.

For the authorities, however, the widow Agba appears to be the author of a double terrorist attack that occurred on July 20 in the north of the country, in which twelve soldiers died. According to the records consulted by The worldhis arrival in Togo and that of his loved ones a few days earlier “it wouldn’t be a coincidence.” “ Bertin would have reserved a good part of his assets to support what he calls “the fight” for the change of the current regime », Indicate the gendarmes in charge of the hearings.

A shameful record for Paris

Those close to the Agba family are concerned about the fate of the detainee, who underwent surgery for cancer and is still undergoing treatment. “She returned after more than ten years of exile because she thought that since her husband’s death she was in no danger. When she arrived, she even went to the gendarmerie to redo her identity papers. Would a terrorist do that?” —one of his relatives protests.

Behind these accusations, for which no tangible evidence has emerged, the hearing report concludes that the interrogations could not “ establish the participation of the interviewees in a conspiracy against the State, nor their financial support for terrorist purposes” –It is the alleged fortune of Sow Bertin Agba that seems to arouse distrust towards the Togolese regime.

During his lifetime, the businessman led the way with his two private jets and his vast property and car portfolio. But those close to him assure him that in recent years, despite his contacts with Kenyan, Ghanaian and Congolese heads of state, the successful businessman has encountered serious setbacks.

“His wife returned to sell their two houses and pay off his debts in South Africa. Their standard of living had fallen. There is no hidden jackpot. And Bertin had no political ambitions. He was not a threat to power.” says one of his friends.

In this context, Aïssat Agba is hoping for French help to obtain the release of her Franco-Togolese husband. An embarrassing file for Paris, which saves its relations with Togo. On August 15, President Faure Gnassingbé was one of the few Heads of State to accept the invitation of the Elysée to the 80th anniversary of the release of her husband.^my Anniversary of the landing in Provence. A precious gesture for Paris in the face of the distrust of a large part of the former colonies of French-speaking Africa.

“France must not abandon my husband. He is also French. But for the moment, he has not yet received any assistance or consular visit.” regrets Aïssat Agba. When asked, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to our questions.