In Togo, more than 300 Togolese numbers appear in the list of potential targets of the Israeli spyware, Pegasus. The Pegasus Project, the gigantic espionage scandal revealed on Monday after months of investigation, has caused outrage, criticism and diplomatic tensions around the world.

Togo is one of the African countries closest to the Jewish state. Over 300 people have been targeted. They include activists, journalists and political opponents. On the political side, the numbers targeted by the Pegasus spyware include those of opponents of Faure Gnassingbé's regime. This is the case of Tikpi Atchadam, leader of the PanAfrican National Party, or Agbéyomé Kodjo, the unsuccessful 2020 presidential candidate against the Head of State. Both are now living in exile. Activists and journalists are also targeted, such as David Ekoué Dosseh, founder of the citizen platform Togo Debout, or investigative journalist Carlos Ketohou. Contacted by RFI, the director of the newspaper L'Alternative, Ferdinand Ayité — also potentially spied on — said he was not surprised. While the Israeli company NSO, which publishes and markets the Pegasus software, disputes these revelations, the Togolese authorities do not deny them. Asked by the newspaper Le Monde about the use of the Pegasus software in Togo to fight terrorism, President Faure Gnassingbé replied that “each sovereign state organizes itself to deal with what threatens it with the means at its disposal.” As for the espionage of his opponents, the Head of State replies that he cannot confirm it. However, notes Le Monde, he does not rule it out either.