Dangnivo case: new postponement of the trial after its resumption this Wednesday.

The trial related to Pierre Urbain Dangnivo’s disappearance resumed this Wednesday, July 8, 2026, before the first-class court in Cotonou. Before embarking on the decisive stages of the procedure, notably the reading of the file, the prosecutor’s requisitions, and the pleadings, the president of the court exceptionally gave the floor to Grégoire Dangnivo, the victim’s brother.

Grégoire Dangnivo took advantage of this platform to clarify the family’s position and definitively sweep away the old official versions. For him, his older brother was the target of a “political assassination” meticulously orchestrated:

“I confirm that my older brother was the victim of a political assassination. He must have been monitored, and his assassination was planned based on his personal issues.”

The victim’s brother demanded that the true instigators of this crime publicly take responsibility for their actions. He also firmly denounced the insinuations circulated, according to him, under the regime of former president Boni Yayi, aimed at reducing the mysterious disappearance to a mere family tragedy.

Houndégnon accused of “moral fault”, Alofa and Amoussou exonerated

One of the highlights of this testimony was Grégoire Dangnivo’s reaction to the revelations made by the former Director-General of the National Police (DGPN), Louis Philippe Houndégnon, who had been heard as a witness during the previous hearing.

While acknowledging the importance of this testimony, the brother of the missing man expressed deep regret regarding the timing of these revelations. He characterized the long silence of the former police chief as a “moral fault,” believing that this information could have spared Codjo Alofa and Donatien Amoussou from spending sixteen years in detention.

Reaffirming a conviction he has held since the beginning of the investigation, Grégoire Dangnivo loudly proclaimed the innocence of the two main accused:

“Alofa and Amoussou are not involved in the disappearance and murder of my older brother,” he claimed, reminding everyone that he had formed this certainty after personally interrogating Codjo Alofa at the very beginning of the case.

Reading of evidence and case postponement

Following this impactful intervention, the court continued examining the case with the phase of presenting and reading the various pieces of the procedure. After exhausting this stage of document verification and testimonies, the judge announced the postponement of the case to Wednesday, July 15, when the trial is expected to continue.