“I was… very shy, the most fragile…,” the confessions of prosecutor Mario Mètonou

In this interview, an excerpt of which was broadcasted on Monday, June 30, 2025, Prosecutor Mario Mètonou disclosed that he grew up in a sibling group of seven children.

“I was the sixth. But I was a bit, let’s say, the most fragile. Which means that, as a mother always appreciates her most fragile child and is quite attached to her most fragile child, many thought that I was the youngest, whereas in fact, someone else came after me,” revealed the special prosecutor with the CRIET.

The prosecutor emotionally discussed a decisive episode in his life when he was in the second grade, when he fell seriously ill and had to stay home for an entire term. His mother, a former teacher, personally invested herself in his home education during this challenging period.

Against all odds, after he returned to class for exams, he managed to rank first in his class.

“Then, the exam period arrives. I go to write the exams. And surprisingly, I top the class. Me, who was home all term. And so, in fact, I find that it was… It’s something I still remember. It was a real challenge, a real feat. And there you have it, I am proud to have risen to that challenge,” he confessed proudly.

Today, Elon’m Mario Mètonou is one of the faces of Beninese justice. He is a special prosecutor with the Court for the Repression of Economic Crimes and Terrorism (CRIET) after having held the position of Prosecutor of the Republic with the First Class Court of First Instance in Cotonou.