Benin’s interior minister says a coup attempt announced earlier on state television has been foiled, after a small group of soldiers declared the dissolution of the government and the removal of President Patrice Talon. Authorities say the armed forces remained loyal to the republic, in an incident that adds to regional concerns over military takeovers in West Africa.
On Sunday, December 7, 2025, Benin faced an apparent coup attempt when a group of soldiers appeared on state television to announce the dissolution of the government and the removal of President Patrice Talon and all state institutions. The soldiers, identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, said they had appointed Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri as president of the committee.
Interior Minister Alassane Seidou addressed the situation in a video posted on Facebook, declaring that the coup had been “foiled,” according to multiple outlets including NPR and the Financial Times. “In the early morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny with the aim of destabilizing the state and its institutions,” Seidou said. He praised the Beninese Armed Forces and their leadership for remaining “committed to the republic” and true to their oath.
Gunshots were reported around the presidential residence in Cotonou, and there was initially no official news about President Talon’s status, NPR and other outlets reported. Signals to state television and public radio were cut off after the military announcement. Reuters and the Associated Press later reported that the mutiny was swiftly contained by loyal forces, that order was restored, and that President Talon later addressed the nation.
Talon has been in power since 2016 and is expected to leave office after a presidential election scheduled for April 2026. International and regional media, including NPR and the Associated Press, report that Talon has signaled he will not seek to extend his time in office and has backed former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his preferred successor. According to NPR, Wadagni is viewed as the favorite in the upcoming vote, while opposition figure Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.
The incident revives memories of Benin’s history of political instability in the decades following independence from France in 1960, when the country experienced multiple coups. Since 1991, however, Benin has generally been regarded as one of West Africa’s more stable democracies following the end of the two-decade rule of Marxist-Leninist leader Mathieu Kérékou, NPR and other background sources note.
Recent political tensions in Benin form part of the backdrop to Sunday’s events. The Associated Press and other outlets have reported that courts convicted two associates of Talon in connection with an alleged coup plot in 2024, and that they received long prison sentences in early 2025. Critics have also raised concerns over recent constitutional changes that extended the presidential term from five to seven years while preserving the two-term limit, which they see as concentrating power around the presidency, according to coverage by Reuters and regional analysts.
The attempted coup in Benin comes amid a wider wave of military interventions across West Africa. NPR and the Associated Press note that it follows a series of coups in the region in recent years and a more recent takeover in Guinea-Bissau, which ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló after disputed elections. Regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union swiftly condemned the coup bid in Benin, and ECOWAS ordered the deployment of elements of its standby force to support the restoration of constitutional order, according to Reuters and other reports.
By Sunday evening, Beninese authorities said the coup attempt had been brought under control. Reuters, the Guardian and the Associated Press reported that more than a dozen soldiers suspected of involvement had been arrested, though the precise number and the whereabouts of Lt. Col. Tigri remained unclear. Officials emphasized that constitutional authorities remained in place and urged citizens to remain calm.
