The highly anticipated trial over the disappearance of Pierre Urbain Dangnivo saw new developments this Friday, April 25, 2025, at the Cotonou Court of First Instance. The hearing, which began in the early afternoon with the testimony of a representative from MTN, was ultimately suspended and postponed until May 13, 2025.
According to Bip Radio, at 1:35 p.m., the MTN representative took the stand to testify. However, two key witnesses—Micheline Houndégla and Judicial Police Officer M’PO Kouagou, who was stationed at the Godomey police station in 2010—were notably absent, as the court president pointed out.
Their absence contributed to the decision to suspend the hearing at 2:01 p.m., in order to gather all necessary parties before continuing the proceedings.
As a reminder, the Dangnivo case remains one of Benin’s greatest judicial mysteries. Pierre Urbain Dangnivo, a senior official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and an opposition activist, mysteriously disappeared on August 17, 2010.
His disappearance immediately triggered a wave of accusations against the then-government, which was suspected of attempting to cover up financial scandals.
On September 27, 2010, a body exhumed in the courtyard of a repeat offender in Abomey-Calavi was presented by the public prosecutor as that of Dangnivo, though his family never fully accepted this conclusion. Two suspects, Codjo Cossi Alofa and Amoussou Donatien, were arrested and held at Missérété Civil Prison.
After a long period of inactivity, the trial was revived in March 2025.