Benin’s Foreign Minister Shegun Bakari says a “large part of the army and national guard” remains loyal to the state and is “in control of the situation,” insisting that an attempted military takeover has been repelled and that President Patrice Talon is safe.
The attempted coup unfolded in the early hours when soldiers in uniform appeared on the public broadcaster to announce the removal of President Talon and the creation of a so‑called Committee for Military Refoundation, naming Lieutenant Colonel Tigri Pascal as its leader. Shortly afterward, reports emerged of clashes as loyalist security forces moved to retake the state television compound and secure the presidential residence in Cotonou, the country’s main administrative and economic center.
Diplomatic sources quoted Bakari as saying that core units of the regular army and national guard had refused to join the plot and remained under government command, allowing them to isolate the mutineers and restore control over strategic sites. Local media and regional outlets reported that Talon and the speaker of the National Assembly were unharmed and under loyalist protection, even as questions persisted over the scale of the mutiny and the number of soldiers involved.
In Cotonou, eyewitness accounts described a heavy security presence, checkpoints on major roads, and convoys of military vehicles heading toward the administrative district, but also relatively calm neighborhoods and limited public gatherings as residents stayed indoors. The apparent failure of the putsch comes less than two years before Benin’s 2026 presidential election in what had been seen as a relatively stable political environment, raising fresh concerns about coup contagion in West Africa and prompting calls from observers for clear, timely communication from Beninese authorities as the situation normalizes.
