Ismaël Agnagano, a Gabonese businessman, has been held in custody in Bangui, Central African Republic. The entrepreneur, who heads two companies including a private security firm, was arrested on February 24. His father has voiced grave concerns over the situation, stating, “My son’s life is in danger.”
According to his family in Libreville, he is being detained in dire conditions at a police station in the capital of the Central African Republic, with no official charges communicated to the detainee.
Julien Agnagano, the father of the Gabonese businessman, has relocated from Port-Gentil to Libreville, where he makes near-daily visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in search of updates on his son’s case. “Every day, I go there. There is no progress… We are completely depressed and overwhelmed by this behavior. Every minute counts. My son’s life is in danger,” he emphasized.
The businessman’s legal representative in the Central African Republic stated that he is unaware of the reasons behind his client’s incarceration. However, the father alleges that Ismaël Sylvain Agnagano encountered problems after winning the bid to secure personnel for the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). “There were many candidates, and his proposal was chosen. His competitors, the economic operators in the Central African Republic, are not happy. That’s where his arrest stems from,” he claimed.
Ismaël Sylvain Agnagano oversees two companies: one specializing in private security and the other in audits. His father is urging Gabonese President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma and Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra to intervene on behalf of his son. “I appeal to General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma to intervene in his case. A message to the Central African authorities: Gabon is a brotherly country, do not forget that!” he pleaded.