The government of Benin has announced that an attempted military coup has been successpfully suppressed after loyalist forces intervened to regain control of key state institutions. Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, in a televised national address on Sunday, confirmed that members of the armed forces had thwarted a mutiny aimed at toppling President Patrice Talon.
According to Seidou, the Beninese armed forces remained steadfast in their allegiance to the republic.
“The leadership and the majority of our armed forces stayed true to their oath and prevented the destabilisation of the state,” he said.
The announcement followed a dramatic broadcast earlier in the day in which a group of rebel soldiers claimed to have removed President Talon from power.
Witnesses reported hearing bursts of gunfire in Cotonou, while journalists working at the state broadcaster were briefly held hostage during the attempted takeover.
A senior presidential adviser later told the BBC that President Talon was safe at a secure location. French diplomats also dismissed rumours that he had taken refuge at the French Embassy in Cotonou.
Authorities say fourteen people have been arrested so far, including twelve individuals believed to have stormed the national television station. Among them is a soldier previously dismissed from the military, according to a BBC correspondent in Benin.
Residents of Cotonou observed helicopters circling overhead and heavy military checkpoints across major roads, reflecting heightened tensions following the failed uprising.
The French and Russian embassies issued urgent advisories urging their citizens to remain indoors, while the U.S. Embassy cautioned its nationals to avoid the vicinity of the presidential compound and surrounding areas.
The mutineers, led by Lt Col Pascal Tigri, justified their attempted coup by accusing President Talon of mismanaging national affairs. Their statement condemned what they described as worsening insecurity in northern Benin, inadequate care for fallen soldiers’ families, reductions in health funding including the cancellation of state-supported kidney dialysis rising taxes, and restrictions on political activities.
President Talon, 67, a wealthy businessman often referred to as the “king of cotton,” is serving his second and final term, with elections scheduled for April next year. While praised for economic reforms, his administration has faced criticism for clamping down on opposition voices. Last October, the electoral commission disqualified the leading opposition candidate for lacking the required number of sponsors.
More recently, parliament approved constitutional amendments extending the terms of elected officials from five to seven years and creating a new Senate, although the two-term presidential limit remains unchanged.
Sunday’s failed coup attempt comes just days after the overthrow of Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, an event that has raised regional concern, especially in a West Africa already rocked by coups in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
The surge in military takeovers has heightened fears about regional stability. Russia has deepened its relationships with several Sahel states, and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn from ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States.
BBC Monitoring reports that some pro-Russian social media platforms praised the attempted rebellion in Benin.
ECOWAS, the African Union and several governments, including Nigeria, have condemned the coup attempt. AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat reaffirmed the organisation’s “zero-tolerance stance toward any unconstitutional change of government.”
Nigeria, Benin’s neighbour and major regional power, described the plot as a “direct assault on democracy” and commended Benin’s security forces for defending constitutional order and ensuring the president’s safety.
The situation in Benin remains tense as investigations continue and security forces maintain heightened vigilance across the country.
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