Authorities in Benin declared on Sunday that they successfully thwarted a coup attempt aimed at deposing President Patrice Talon. The President confirmed the situation was “totally under control,” and the West African bloc ECOWAS is set to dispatch military support to the nation.

This attempted putsch occurs just months before President Talon concludes his second term in office. Benin, a small West African country known for its robust economic growth, has recently been grappling with escalating jihadist violence in its northern regions.

The broader West African region has experienced significant political instability since the turn of the decade, marked by military takeovers in neighboring Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, along with coups in Guinea and, more recently in late November, in Guinea-Bissau.

On Sunday morning, following reports of gunfire near the presidential palace, military personnel appeared on national television. They announced the removal of President Talon, citing various reasons including a “deterioration of the security situation” and infringements upon “fundamental freedoms.”

However, within a few hours, Benin’s Minister of Interior, Alassane Seidou, also appeared on national television to confirm that the coup had been neutralized.

President Patrice Talon himself corroborated this in a brief address to the nation on Sunday evening. He reiterated that the situation was “totally under control” and assured that “security and public order will be maintained across the entire national territory.”

“This act of treachery will not go unpunished,” he added, having previously commended the Republican Guard soldiers upon his arrival at the presidential palace.

France, the former colonial power, issued a statement Sunday evening condemning the coup attempt and urged its citizens to exercise “the utmost caution and, in particular, to remain confined,” citing a “still volatile context.”

After a day where most residents in Cotonou, the economic capital, went about their usual activities, the city’s streets emptied earlier than normal in the evening, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist.

Several military checkpoints were established in the vicinity of the presidency and the adjacent Guézo military camp.

“Tonight, we’re trying to get home earlier. We don’t know who is behind this coup,” Michelle Eudoxie, a 50-year-old hairdresser, told AFP.

Nabil Sacca, a petrol vendor who was near the presidential palace in the morning, recounted, “This morning I started hearing gunshots. I left the neighborhood to go elsewhere because I was scared.”

West African troops deployed

According to military sources speaking to AFP, approximately a dozen soldiers have been apprehended. This group reportedly includes some individuals involved in the attempted putsch, a security source indicated, though it was not specified whether the alleged leader of the mutineers, Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, was among those arrested.

By late afternoon, Nigerian aviation executed strikes in Cotonou, described by Nigerian Air Force spokesperson General Ehimen Ejodamen as being “in connection with the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).” The specific targets of these strikes were not disclosed.

Subsequently, ECOWAS announced the “immediate deployment” of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana. Their mandate is to support “the government and the republican army” of Benin and to “preserve constitutional order.”

The ECOWAS Standby Force is tasked with ensuring regional peace and stability. For instance, it intervened in The Gambia in 2017 when then-President Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power. However, the force ultimately refrained from intervening after the 2023 coup in Niger.

The African Union (AU) also issued a statement, “firmly and unequivocally” condemning this coup attempt.

Benin’s political history has seen several coups and attempted coups, with the most recent prior incident dating back to 1972.

“Today, it feels like I’m reliving what our parents experienced back then,” remarked Remy Agblo, a local merchant, expressing relief that “it was fortunately thwarted.”

President Patrice Talon, who assumed power in 2016, is set to conclude his second and final term, as constitutionally permitted, in 2026.

His designated successor, current Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is widely considered the front-runner for the presidential election scheduled for April 2026, especially since the main opposition party has been effectively excluded from the electoral process.

“There has been a palpable tension in the country for months due to the elections,” observed Anatole Zinsou, an IT specialist in Cotonou, who voiced concerns over the “exclusion” of certain political actors from the electoral framework.

While often commended for Benin’s economic development, President Patrice Talon has frequently been accused by critics of steering the nation towards a more authoritarian path, a stark contrast to its past reputation as a dynamic democracy.