Ouagadougou: Judicial actors, including a magistrate, a chief clerk, and two clerks, are currently facing prosecution for their involvement in a fraudulent scheme concerning the sale of land plots in Ouagadougou. This development follows accusations of stellionat, complicity in stellionat, corruption of public officials, forgery, and complicity in forgery of public documents, as outlined in a press release from the Attorney General at the Bobo-Dioulasso Court of Appeal.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the press release highlighted the dismantling and prosecution of a “vast network of suspected offenders,” involving land brokers, land registry, land publicity agents from Ouagadougou, and legal actors. The network’s modus operandi involved identifying plots of land, allocated or not, in Ouagadougou, and then establishing court orders to validate the sale or transfer of ownership, or certification of real rights over these plots. This was done to either unduly allocate plots to unauthorized individuals or transfer ownership to others, undermining the rights of the true beneficiaries.

The investigation uncovered that 385 false court orders were issued between January 2021 and June 2025 by Judge Yaya Coulibali, who served at the TGI Ouaga 1. The Attorney General’s statement noted the absence of regularly submitted requests for these orders, which were also marked by fictitious numbers.

Furthermore, the Orange Money account statements provided evidence of interactions between the defendants and confirmed the existence of a large network of counterfeiters. The prosecutor assured that the proceedings initiated by the Ouaga 2 High Court against these judicial actors would continue, respecting the rights of the accused, who are presumed innocent, and ensuring justice for the victims involved in this case.