Arrest of Reckya Madougou : A case to follow

In the night of Friday 5 Mars 2021, failed Democrats candidate Reckya Madougou was dropped off in Missérété prison two days after her arrest.

In the evening of 3 Mars 2021, Reckya Madougou was apprehended as she was leaving an opposition rally in Porto-Novo by the police for criminal conspiracy and terrorism by the Republican police on the basis of a warrant issued by the special prosecutor near la Criet. The next day, Thursday 4 mars 2021, the special prosecutor of Criet, Mario Metonou through a press briefing revealed the charges against the Democrats' candidate. According to the judicial authority, the former minister of Yayi Boni is said to be involved in a project to assassinate two personalities from the North of which she is the instigator. The motivation of this, according to the prosecutor, would be to cause chaos and to succeed in suspending the electoral process..

Reaction of Reckya Madougou's lawyers

"This is a scenario that has been thought out, which was mounted and which is being executed ". These were the words of Me Renaud Agbodjo refuting all the accusations against his client at the end of a lively press conference with his counterpart Me Paul Kato Atita the day after the statements of the special prosecutor of Criet. "When we listen to the prosecutor, the entire procedure has been made public ... Can we still say that Reckya Madougou benefits from the presumption of innocence ? "Asked lawyer Nadine Sakponon who answered in the negative.. The candidate's defense thus denounced a political affair.

Modeste Kérékou steps into the business

In the night of Friday 5 mars, the Minister of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Employment Promotion, Modeste Kérékou reveals messages he accidentally received from Reckya Madougou. "Irrefutable proof that Dame Madougou is ill-intentioned and has been conspiring for a long time against Benin" he confided. "Surprised by the content of the messages, I was immediately aware of their seriousness and immediately took a screenshot before replying to the sender that I did not understand anything and I asked him who I was dealing with ", said Minister Kérékou while specifying that "these facts took place on 23 December 2018 ». He then presented the said screenshots in which the names of several heads of state in the sub-region are mentioned.. For him these messages are clear enough to indicate the designs of the sender whom he claims to be Madam Reckya Madougou. "More than two years later, these messages come today in the context of the debate on the attempts to destabilize our country by Dame Madougou and company, shed a harsh light on the intentions of our compatriot. They provide proof that it has conspired against our country for a long time and that the latest events are only the epilogue of what has been brewing for years, he said.. He concludes that his phone remains available to justice for the expertise of messages that have arrived on his phone by mistake of which he has taken screenshots.

New appearance and warrant of committal

After being interviewed once again by the special prosecutor and then by the Investigation Committee, the mis en cause was indicted for terrorist financing.

It should be remembered that the former retired gendarmerie colonel Ibrahim Mama Touré and Georges Sacca near Madougou were also deposited in Akpro-Missérété civil prison.. The latter are said to be accomplices of the Democrats' candidate, according to the special prosecutor.

To be continued….

Leonard SONEHEKPON