Court/Judicial body:Benin Constitutional Court
Date:July 7, 2005
Instrument(s) cited:The Benin Constitution and related legislation
Case summary
Three children wishing to secure visas to enter the United Kingdom filed a case involving allegations of corruption and abuse of power by the Benin Gendarmerie. The children reported that to secure their Visas, they paid sums of money to certain members of the Gendarmerie to facilitate the acceptance of their applications. When their visas were denied, they sought to be reimbursed for the funds they had paid to the Gendarmerie officers. Instead of being reimbursed, some of the children were picked up by police jeeps and driven to a remote prison where they were subject to arbitrary imprisonment, degrading treatment, and forced to sign instruments against their will. A conclusion to the case was not reached, as the head officer under question was said to have left the country and was unavailable. It would appear that the court put a stay in place rather than enter a decision against him in his absence.
Citation:DCC 05-058
Link to full judgement: https://legallibrary.crin.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Benin_DCC_05-058.pdf