Benin: young man appears before CRIET for falsely accusing his uncle of plotting a coup against Talon
A young man is being prosecuted before the CRIET for accusing his uncle, a retired colonel, of wanting to stage a coup d’État against President Patrice Talon.
SUMMARY
According to the case file, the retired colonel had paid significant sums — 125,000 F CFA, then 250,000 F CFA, then 300,000 F CFA — to his nephew for the purchase of a three-hectare property.
The young man, a former serviceman who had been dismissed, allegedly neither handed the money to the seller nor answered his uncle’s calls after the latter was evicted from the land he believed he had acquired.
Serious accusations
At a hearing held on 16 October 2025, the defendant was asked, “Why accuse your uncle of plotting a coup d’état?” The young man replied that he had done it “in a fit of anger,” blaming his uncle for owing him four months of arrears.
The public prosecutor reclassified the acts as “dissemination of false information” and “harassment by electronic communication,” and requested a sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment and a fine of one million CFA francs against him.
The defense, for its part, pleaded the defendant’s “naivety,” arguing that the situation was a purely family dispute that “should never have been taken to court.” The lawyer asked for leniency.
The case was adjourned until 27 November 2025 for a verdict.
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