Benin: a man on trial for attempting to buy human remains
A man appeared this Thursday, June 5, 2025, before the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (CRIET) in a troubling case involving trafficking human remains and abuse of office.
Justice @currentschoolnews.com
He is being prosecuted alongside an embalmer from the CNHU-HKM in Cotonou, involved in a case of illegal purchasing of cadaver remains, including mortuary bath water and human nails.
The facts date back to an investigation opened following the discovery of skeletons behind the morgue of the Hubert Koutoukou Maga National University Hospital Center. In this context, an individual has been held in preventive detention since April 24, 2025. His objective: to acquire human remains in the hope of bringing good luck.
But the quest for luck resulted in an arrest. Detained, he is prosecuted for complicity in abuse of office, just like the mortician at the CNHU, who is also held under arrest warrant for abuse of office in this case, as well as another currently ongoing before the CRIET.
During the hearing on June 5, only the buyer of the corpse remains was heard by the Court, as the embalmer was not present at this hearing. The latter, who had appeared earlier in the morning, was returned to detention.