Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed that he ordered fighter jets and later ground forces into neighboring Benin to help repel an attempted coup by a faction of Beninese soldiers. His office said Nigeria acted after Benin’s government made two requests for assistance, including immediate air support.
Tinubu directed jets to enter Benin airspace to dislodge the plotters from the national television station and from a military camp where they had regrouped. Ground troops were deployed subsequently at Benin’s request to assist in protecting constitutional institutions and containing armed groups. Tinubu commended the Nigerian forces for helping to stabilize the neighboring country.
Benin’s President Patrice Talon appeared on national television to say security forces had blocked the takeover. He said loyal units recaptured positions, cleared remaining pockets of resistance and that those responsible would be held to account. Talon expressed sympathy for victims and for people who had been held by the mutineers, without giving further details.
Authorities said 14 people had been arrested in connection with the attempt as of Sunday afternoon. A security source told AFP that all but one of those detained were serving soldiers; one was a former service member. It remained unclear whether Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, named as the alleged coup leader, had been captured. Benin’s foreign minister told Reuters the mutineers had briefly taken control of the state television network. Residents reported gunfire in parts of Cotonou earlier in the day, though the city was relatively calm by early afternoon.
Regional and continental bodies condemned the bid. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union denounced the attempt, and ECOWAS said it had ordered the immediate deployment of elements of its standby force to Benin. That deployment is to include contingents from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana to help preserve constitutional order and Benin’s territorial integrity.
The incident adds to mounting concerns about democratic backsliding in West Africa after recent coups in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The attempt was unexpected in Benin, where the last successful coup occurred in 1972.
The unrest comes as Benin prepares for a presidential election in April, expected to mark the end of Talon’s tenure. Last month the government adopted a new constitution that creates a Senate and extends presidential terms from five to seven years; critics have called the changes a power grab by the governing coalition. The coalition has nominated Economy Minister Romuald Wadagni as its candidate. The opposition Democrats party saw its proposed candidate barred by a court for lacking sufficient backing from lawmakers.
Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy director of the Sahel Project at the International Crisis Group, said recent coup bids across the region are partly driven by governments abandoning democratic responsibilities. He noted that unclear electoral processes, leaders seeking to extend their terms and the sidelining of opposition figures feed instability, and he pointed to the invalidation of the opposition candidate in Benin as a worrying element in the wider context.