Ségbana is a town,

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located in the

Alibori Department Alibori is the largest and northernmost department (French: ''département'') of Benin. Externally the department borders the countries of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria, and internally the departments of Atakora and Borgou. The department o ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. The commune covers an area of 4471 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 89,268 people.

Geography

The commune of Ségbana is located 722 kilometres from Cotonou and lies on the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

. Communally it is bounded to the north by

Malanville Malanville is a city, arrondissement and commune in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin, located across the River Niger from Niger. It is known as a centre of cross-border trade and has a major market. Malanville is also a centre for rice ...

, south by Kalalé, west by Kandi and Gogounou and east by

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

History

With the Séro Kpéra camp in

Parakou Parakou is the largest city in northern Benin, with an estimated population of around 206,667 people, and capital of the Borgou Department. Administratively the commune of Parakou makes up one of Benin's 77 communes. Since 2015, its mayor is Sour ...

, the civil prison of Ségbana was, during the 1980s under the regime of President

Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for ...

, a prison establishment specially assigned to the detention of political prisoners, sometimes presented as a place of torture, but this point is not confirmed by the filmed testimonies of former prisoners. According to them, the tortures were rather practiced in the Parakou camp.''Prison de Ségbana. Memory of an obscure past''
film by Félicien M. Assogba, Synergie Médias & Services, March 2016

Administrative divisions

Ségbana is subdivided into 5 arrondissements; Ségbana, Libantè, Liboussou, Lougou and Sokotindji. They contain 25 villages and 5 urban districts.

Economy

Most of the population are engaged in agricultural activities followed by trade, transportation and handicrafts. The main crops grown are

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

, sorghum, and yams.

References

Arrondissements of Benin Communes of Benin Populated places in the Alibori Department {{AliboriDepartment-geo-stub