Benin’s government said it had foiled a coup attempt on 7 December after a small group of soldiers briefly seized state television and announced they had removed President Patrice Talon, prompting gunfire in parts of Cotonou and an urgent security response.

 

 The mutineers called themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” and named Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri as their leader, Al Jazeera reported.

 

The bid began in the early hours when soldiers appeared on national TV to say they had suspended the constitution, dissolved state institutions and closed the country’s borders, Reuters reported. Witnesses and embassy statements described gunfire near the presidential residence and around military sites in Cotonou as the events unfolded.

 

Loyalist forces moved quickly. According to Reuters, those forces reclaimed the broadcasting centre and cleared remaining pockets of resistance; the government said 14 people had been arrested in connection with the attempt. Nigeria responded to a request from Benin’s authorities by sending fighter jets and ground troops to help dislodge the plotters from key sites, Al Jazeera reported, and ECOWAS said it had ordered elements of its standby force to deploy, naming Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana among contributors.

 

President Patrice Talon addressed the nation on Sunday evening, thanking the armed forces for their swift response and vowing justice. “This treachery will not go unpunished,” he said in a televised statement, Reuters reported. Interior Minister Alassane Seidou told the public that the mutiny had been aimed at “destabilising the state and its institutions,” and urged citizens to carry on with daily life.

 

The soldiers who seized the airwaves cited grievances including what they described as a worsening security situation in northern Benin, neglect of soldiers killed in action and alleged mismanagement by the government, Reuters and local reporting said. Analysts and some local commentators have pointed to recent political tensions, including constitutional changes and the exclusion of some opposition figures, as background to rising unease; Reuters noted the attempt comes ahead of a presidential election in April 2026 that will mark the end of Mr Talon’s second term.

 

Officials and regional bodies quickly condemned the attempt. The African Union and ECOWAS denounced the mutiny and pledged support for constitutional order, while foreign embassies in Cotonou warned citizens to stay indoors during the unrest. Forensic teams and military investigators were reported to be processing evidence at seized sites and sifting through footage and documents to identify participants and motives, Reuters said.

 

As of the latest official statements, security had been restored to most parts of the capital and streets were returning to normal, but the arrests and the public airing of the soldiers’ grievances have left a political strain. The government said it would pursue and prosecute those involved; ECOWAS said it would monitor the situation and stand ready to assist, France24 reported.

 

The attempted coup, the first of its kind in Benin since the country’s return to multiparty rule,  has highlighted both fast regional cooperation in response to threats and deeper domestic fault lines that authorities say they will investigate and address.