The Togolese government’s request to issue an international arrest warrant against former prime minister Agbeyomé Kodjo remains unresolved. The opposition party leader seems to be free to travel to France where he plans to go to meet the Togolese diaspora.
Prosecuted for “disturbances to public order” and “undermining the internal security of the state”, the Togolese politician Agbéyomé Kodjo has disappeared since last July, claiming he “feared for his life”.
On July 16 2020, Togo’s public prosecutor, Essolissam Poyodi, said an “international arrest warrant” had been issued against the former MP who lost his parliamentary immunity.
However, according to Interpol documents consulted by Jeune Afrique, this arrest warrant has still not been validated by the international organization.
In a letter dated September 22, 2020, the Legal Affairs Office of the General Secretariat of the International Criminal Police Organization (OIPC) “certifies that Mr. Agbéyomé Kodjo is not the subject of either notification or dissemination “.
This letter had been sent to the French lawyers of the Togolese opponent, Me Pierre-Henri Bovis and Me Robin Binsard by an independent authority for the control and protection of data collected by Interpol.
Moreover, the lawyers obtained confirmation from Interpol on February 5 that the documents are still relevant.
Nevertheless, the power of Lomé had confirmed to the weekly Jeune Afrique, that an international arrest warrant had indeed been “issued” and that this request had been “notified” to Interpol by the services of the Minister of Justice, Pius Agbetomey. A request which has therefore not (or not yet) been taken into account by Interpol.
According to the same source, Agbéyomé Kodjo, who still refuses to reveal his whereabouts, plans to visit Europe in the coming weeks. But he was awaiting confirmation that an arrest warrant had not been issued for him by Interpol before proceeding.
Ranked as second in the presidential election of February 22 , won by Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Agbéyomé Kodjo continues to claim he is the “president elect” of this Westen African country.
This prompted his arrest in late April, before he was later released on bail.
As long as this regime keeps torturing the civilians this country will never prosper. Togolese is very peaceful and not greedy at all. The minimum is enough for togolese to survive. This regime will fail and all these years spent by holding the power is just hurting the youth and those who can do better than this lazy president.