“The situation is completely under control,” declared Beninese President Patrice Talon on Sunday evening on national television, after a coup attempt in the morning, which the authorities declared to have foiled. The military announced that they had taken over public television and “removed the head of state from office. A dozen soldiers were arrested, including the perpetrators, according to military and security sources.

Published on: 07/12/2025 - 09:27 Modified on: 07/12/2025 - 22:16

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Confused situation in Benin. An attempted coup took place on Sunday December 7, according to information from France 24, but the army claimed at midday to have foiled it.

In the evening, President Patrice Talon made a speech on national television. He said "the situation is completely under control." “I would like to assure you that the situation is completely under control and therefore invite you to calmly go about your business this evening, security and public order will be maintained throughout the national territory,” he added, indicating that “this crime will not go unpunished.”

The Economic Community of West African States (Cédéo) announced in the evening that it was deploying soldiers to Benin. In a statement, the regional body said it had "ordered the immediate deployment of elements of the Standby Force", troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana, in order to support "the government and the Republican Army of Benin" and "preserve constitutional order".

Read alsoAttempted coup d'état in Benin live: ECOWAS announces deployment of soldiers

It is in this context that Nigeria says it struck targets in Cotonou, at "two requests from the Beninese government". Nigerian head of state Bola Tinubu first ordered combat planes to enter Beninese airspace to help “dislodge the putschists from national television and a military camp where they had regrouped.” The Nigerian Air Force also carried out surveillance operations with their Beninese partner.

Then, Cotonou also requested the deployment of Nigerian ground troops. “Nigerian ground forces are currently in Benin,” the Nigerian presidential services said in their press release.

A dozen soldiers arrested and “mutineers on the run”

A dozen soldiers, including some of the perpetrators of this attempted coup, were arrested in the afternoon, according to military and security sources. These sources did not specify whether the leader of the mutineers, Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, was among them.

In his speech, the Beninese president, however, mentioned people "held by the fleeing mutineers" and gave assurances "that they will be found safe and sound."

France, a former colonial power, condemned the coup attempt on Sunday evening and called on its nationals “to exercise the greatest caution” due to “a context that is still volatile at this time”.

In a video posted on Facebook, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said the coup attempt had been "failed". “Faced with this situation, the Beninese armed forces and their hierarchy, faithful to their oath, remained republican. Their response made it possible to maintain control of the situation and thwart the maneuver,” he said.

The events took place early, Sunday morning. The house of President Patrice Talon, located in the Guézo district of Cotonou, was attacked. The soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri took to public television and announced on television that they were “removing” President Talon from office. Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri declared himself president of the Military Committee for Refoundation (CMR).

"It's a small group of people who only have television. The regular army is taking back control. The city [Cotonou, the Beninese capital] and the country are completely secure, the president and his family too," a military source in Patrice Talon's entourage told AFP.

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Condemnations from the AU and ECOWAS

The African Union (AU) condemned this coup attempt "strongly and unequivocally", calling on "all actors involved to immediately cease all illegal actions".

For its part, ECOWAS also “strongly” condemned an “unconstitutional action which constitutes a subversion of the will of the Beninese people”, saying “to support the government and the people [of Benin] by all means necessary, including the deployment of the regional force on standby”.

This putsch attempt comes a few months before the departure of Patrice Talon from the presidency, after two mandates at the head of this small West African country with robust growth but undermined by jihadist violence in its northern part.

Patrice Talon has been in power since 2016 and is expected to leave office next April, after the presidential election. The ruling coalition has named Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as its presidential candidate, a man considered an important architect of the economic policies pursued under the current mandate.

If he is praised for the economic development of Benin, Patrice Talon is regularly accused by his detractors of having made an authoritarian turn in a country formerly praised for the dynamism of its democracy.

With AFP, Reuters

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