In Porto Novo yesterday, the Beninese opponent Reckia Madougou was heard for the first time by the Criet, which has been prosecuting her since March 5, 2021 for “criminal association and terrorism. Candidate of the Democrats party whose file was invalidated by the electoral commission, officially for lack of sponsorship, she was heard on the merits and on her possible involvement in the case where the special prosecutor of this Court accused her.
The hearing was held behind closed doors, far from the public eye. No one saw Reckia Madougou when she arrived or when she left. Around 6:00 p.m. (local time), a white van was seen leaving the Court of Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (Criet), the opponent was on board, she was returning to her cell in the prison of Missrété.
According to our information, three magistrates questioned her for nearly six hours on the facts that the prosecutor accused her of on March 5, 48 hours after her arrest, namely “a plan to sabotage the presidential election of April 11 with planned assassinations of political figures. In the name of the secrecy of the investigation, her four Beninese lawyers who assisted her refuse to talk about it.
They refer to their first statements on the case, which were made in March, when they described the case as “empty and political”. There has been no decision, the investigation continues, says one of them; in clear terms, the opponent will be heard again. Two other defendants in the case were heard during the week. If necessary, the investigating committee will organize confrontations.