The trial before the specialized criminal court has turned into a veritable "national autopsy," with the Attorney General's (AG) indictment relentlessly exposing the workings and decay of the system. The case, which uncovered the theft of public funds, has been portrayed as a "financial holocaust," of which the admitted sums are merely "the tip of the iceberg."

The shock of the revelations was symbolized by the question posed by Nourreddin Bongo Valentin: "Do you realize this?" upon the discovery of the suitcases of money. The PG interpreted this phrase not as surprise, but as a "cry of horror" and an "admission" of the system's collapse, revealing "stolen money, the people's money, the Republic's money."

👑 Metaphors of Infamy: The Trial of the Privileged Class

To denounce the scale of the looting and the arrogance of the accused, the Attorney General's office drew on the history of high treason.

Ian Ngoulou: The Gabonese "New Fouquet"

Former collaborator Ian Ghislain Ngoulou has been compared to Nicolas Fouquet , the superintendent of finances whose personal extravagance defied royal authority in France. The comparison is justified by the enormity of the discoveries:

1. The "Treasure of Terror": More than 4 billion FCFA in cash discovered at his home. These funds were an illegal "redistribution stockpile" intended for electoral corruption, "occult services," and buying loyalty.
2. The CGE Corruption: Ngoulou admitted to handing over 500 million FCFA to the president of the Gabonese Elections Center (CGE) on the orders of Nourreddin, an act reclassified as complicity in active corruption for electoral manipulation .
3. Self-Laundering: The enrichment is insolent: the acquisition of twenty-seven apartments with swimming pools in the same city, without any bank loan or proportionate declared income, characterizes a "self-laundering" at the expense of the State.

The "Young Team": Scandal-Loving "Sons of the King"

Nourreddin Bongo's inner circle, including Abdul Oceni Ossa, was portrayed as the "sons of the King" who treated the country like their "playground." The indictment denounced a Gabon left in the hands of "high schoolers" obsessed with poker, PlayStation, and eager for extravagant parties ("bunga bunga" or "breaks off").

"Do you realize that when you leave the relics of the Republic in the hands of teenagers, the secrets are exposed?" - The Attorney General

This "criminal association" (Ngoulou, Saliou, Oceni Ossa, etc.) had set up a "veritable criminal solar system" to capture funds, with a distribution of roles ranging from embezzlement to illegitimate tax interventions.

💰 Concussion and Parallel Compensation Systems

The prosecution then targeted Mohamed Ali Saliou, described as an "institutional validator" of the system:

1. Organized Extortion: Saliou received fixed bonuses of 80 million FCFA per month , variable bonuses of up to 450 million FCFA , and illicit "oil bonuses." These amounts, lacking any legal basis or decree, constituted a parallel system of remuneration and are classified as extortion —the moral betrayal of a public official demanding undue sums.
2. Indecent Assets: The embezzled funds were used to finance real estate and movable assets estimated at over 8 billion FCFA , including a collection of 20 luxury watches worth 1.4 billion FCFA . Saliou was "the administrative legitimacy of the embezzlement," his power to approve the largest contracts opening the doors of the Treasury to him.

The Attorney General concluded by calling on the Court to consider this case not as a simple analysis, but as the "vertigo" of a justice which, in the name of the founding fathers, must put an end to the impunity and arrogance of yesterday.