Benin: prayer for Wadagni, posters removed, police called… Bertin Koovi explains.

The Beninese political figure Bertin Koovi, founder of the Knights of the Republic movement and coordinator of the Wadagni 2026-2040 platform, has denied being the subject of police questioning following an incident that occurred during a prayer ceremony organized for President Romuald Wadagni, according to his statements to Radio Bip. Witnesses, however, say that he was briefly held before being released.

According to witnesses cited by the source, Bertin Koovi allegedly had posters depicting the head of state, put up by the ceremony’s organizers, removed on the grounds that the president was not an advocate of such practices. The police reportedly intervened, and Koovi was held briefly before being released. The Beninese national police have not issued a statement regarding this incident.

In his version of events, Bertin Koovi disputes the entire account. He claims he endorsed the event after agreeing with the organizers that the image of the president would not be used, in order to avoid any personality cult. He states that he requested the intervention of the police present for the security of the ceremony to have the posters outside the site removed. “I called the police who were on duty to secure the event so that if there were posters outside, they would be taken down. I insisted on making my statement. I was not detained,” he told Bip Radio.

The two versions of the incident cannot be reconciled based on the available information. Bertin Koovi, a doctor of law, had distinguished himself in 2025-2026 as one of the earliest public supporters of Romuald Wadagni’s candidacy for the April 2026 presidential election, before being suspended and then resigning from the Republican Bloc in February 2026 due to this positioning. He has since continued his political activities independently.