Benin’s government announced on Sunday that it had successfully thwarted a coup attempt aimed at overthrowing President Patrice Talon. The president confirmed the situation was “totally under control,” and the West African bloc, ECOWAS, pledged to send military support to the nation.

This attempted putsch occurred just months before President Talon is set to conclude his second term. Benin, a small West African country known for its robust economic growth, has recently been grappling with jihadist violence in its northern regions.

The West African region has experienced significant political instability throughout the current decade, marked by coups in Mali, Burkina Faso (both bordering Benin), Guinea, and, more recently in late November, Guinea-Bissau.

On Sunday morning, following reports of gunfire near the presidential palace, military personnel appeared on national television. They declared President Talon’s ousting, citing a “deteriorating security situation” and challenges to “fundamental freedoms” among their reasons.

However, within hours, Benin’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, appeared on national television to reassure the public that the coup attempt had been foiled.

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

“This felony will not go unpunished,” he added, after commending the Republican Guard upon his arrival at the presidential palace.

France, the former colonial power, condemned the coup attempt on Sunday evening, urging its citizens “to exercise the utmost caution and, specifically, to remain confined” due to “a still volatile context.”

After a day where most residents in Cotonou, the economic capital, carried on with their routines, the city emptied out earlier than usual in the evening, as reported by an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist.

Multiple military checkpoints were set up around the presidential zone and the adjacent Guézo military camp.

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

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

West African troops deployed

According to military sources speaking to AFP, approximately a dozen soldiers have been apprehended. Among those arrested are some of the individuals involved in the attempted putsch, a security source confirmed, without specifying if the alleged leader of the mutineers, Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, was among them.

In the late afternoon, the Nigerian air force conducted strikes in Cotonou, actions described by Nigerian Air Force spokesperson General Ehimen Ejodamen as “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. This force is intended to support “the government and the republican army” of Benin and to “preserve constitutional order.”

The ECOWAS Standby Force is mandated to ensure peace and stability across the region. For instance, it was deployed to Gambia in 2017 when the then-incumbent President Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power.

However, it ultimately chose not to intervene in 2023 following the coup d’état in Niger.

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

Benin’s political history has seen several coups or attempts, but the last successful one dates back to 1972.

“Today, it feels like I’m reliving what our parents went through back then,” remarked Remy Agblo, a merchant, adding, “fortunately, it was thwarted.”

President Patrice Talon, who has been in power since 2016, will complete his second term in 2026, which is the maximum allowed by the Constitution.

His designated successor, current Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is widely considered the leading candidate for the April 2026 presidential election, particularly as the main opposition party has been excluded from the race.

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

While lauded for Benin’s economic development, President Talon has frequently been accused by critics of steering the country towards authoritarianism, a nation once celebrated for its dynamic democracy.