CRIET: the lieutenant-colonel pursued for a message of “congratulations” to Pascal Tigri claims his innocence.

Already heard during the first session on June 22, 2026, the senior officer was once again confronted with the judges’ questions regarding the nature of the charges against him. The special prosecutor of the CRIET is formally prosecuting him for “advocacy of crime against state security”.

The justice system accuses him of having posted the message “Congratulations Mr. President” in a WhatsApp group he shared with several fellow soldiers and his promotion partner, Pascal Tigri, who is designated as the leader of the coup plotters and is currently on the run. According to the prosecution, this publication amounts to a clear support for the military who attempted to overturn the constitutional order.

A reaffirmed loyalty to the current regime

On the stand, the officer appeared particularly relaxed alongside his two counsels. He firmly rejected the idea of having been involved or even informed about the coup preparations, specifying that had he been aware, he would have immediately alerted his superiors to thwart the attempt preemptively.

To prove his good faith, he reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to the republican institutions and to President Patrice Talon’s authority, recalling that he had previously led significant strategic missions that received praise from his superiors as well as from the former head of state himself.

When questioned by the Court about potential ambitions to stage a coup, the defendant dismissed this hypothesis, explaining that if he had harbored such plans, his military career would have provided him the opportunity, particularly when he found himself at the head of 3,000 men, including commando units, during operations in the North.

A message dictated by panic and fear

To justify sending his WhatsApp message on the morning of Sunday, December 7, the lieutenant colonel claimed he acted in a panic after seeing an armored vehicle speeding through his neighborhood. “My message was not to praise Pascal Tigri’s actions. I was afraid for my life,” he stated before the magistrates.

He also described the message Pascal Tigri had personally sent him requesting tactical reinforcements as a “diversion.” The officer emphasized their historically distant, even conflictual, relations with the leader of the coup attempt, specifying that despite belonging to the same cohort, they did not get along and avoided each other within military camps.

Finally, when questioned by his own lawyers about any potential secret contacts with other brains or executors of the destabilization attempt, his response was emphatic: “Never, I had contact with them.” After these clarifications, the Court adjourned the case until July 20, 2026, when the public prosecutor’s requisitions and the defense’s arguments will commence.