Benin: Candide Azannaï returns to custody in Missérété after eight hours of questioning at the CRIET.

After an eight-hour face-to-face meeting with the investigating judge that started at 9 am, the political figure was returned to the civil prison of Akpro-Missérété, with no date set for a next appearance or the opening of a trial at this stage.

Heard as part of the investigation opened against him, the opposition leader was able to explain himself for the first time on the merits of the case after six months of preventive detention. At the end of this first day of investigation, there were still no formal charges.

For the record, his arrest in December 2025 occurred in a particularly heavy political climate, marked by waves of judicial inquiries following an attempt to destabilize state institutions reported at the end of last year.

Although the specific content of the statements made before the investigating magistrate remains confidential, this long hearing marks a decisive procedural step. It comes nearly nine years after Mr. Azannaï’s dramatic resignation from President Patrice Talon’s first government in April 2017, a break that propelled him to the forefront of political protest in Benin.

The continuation of his detention order at the Missérété prison confirms the complexity of the case and the special jurisdiction’s intent to pursue thorough investigations.