Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè

Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè is a Beninese journalist and human rights activist. The director of the online investigative outlet Olofofo, he formerly served as the secretary general of the Beninese Association of Web Activists. A refugee in Togo since 2021, in 2025 Sossoukpè was abducted from Côte d'Ivoire and extradited to Benin on terrorism charges which have been criticised by human rights organisations.

Career Sossoukpè was known for using social media to promote his activism, with 69, 000 followers on Facebook. He went on to establish his own online news outlet, Olofofo, and served for a time as the secretary general of the Beninese Association of Web Activists. Sossoukpè often wrote articles denouncing government scandals, and in particular the President of Benin, Patrice Talon. In 2019, after criticising the results of parliamentary elections, Sossoukpè fled to Togo, where he received refugee status in 2021. Overnight on 10 and 11 July, Sossoukpè was arrested in his hotel room and transported directly to Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, where he was extradited via a chartered plane to Cotonou, Benin.

Local media in Benin reported that Sossoukpè had been presented before the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism on 11 July before being detained at a prison in Ouidah, though this was not initially confirmed by either Beninese or Ivorian authorities.

On 19 December 2025, the President of the Investigation Commission of the Court for the Suppression of Economic Offences and Terrorism published an avis aux avocats stating that a hearing would be held in respect of Sossoukpè's case on 26 December.

Response Sossoukpè's legal team argued that he should not have been extradited to Benin due to his status as a refugee in Togo, and argued due process had not been followed as he had not been presented before an Ivorian magistrate before being extradited from Côte d'Ivoire. The Beninese College of Lawyers, which included members of Sossoukpè's legal team, denounced his arrest as an abuse of procedure.

The Union of Journalists for African Free Press issued a statement on 12 July 2025 expressing concern about news of Sossoukpè's arrest and called on Ivorian and Beninese authorities to confirm his current status and what charges had been made against him.

Human rights organisations criticised Sossoukpè's extradition. Front Line Defenders expressed concern that his detention was due to his human rights activism. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Beninese authorities to release Sossoukpè; the International Federation of Journalists condemned his arrest and extradition as violating international protocols on the rights of the refugees.

In 2026, Reporters Without Borders referred Sossoukpè's case to the Court of Justice of ECOWAS, citing the actions of the Beninese and Ivorian authorities as "serious violations of the law". In July 2026, a group of 50 West African journalists launched a call for his release to mark a year since his arrest.