Officials in Bénin announced on Sunday that they successfully foiled a coup attempt aimed at overthrowing President Patrice Talon. The president confirmed the situation was “totally under control,” and the West African bloc, ECOWAS, is dispatching military assistance.

This attempted putsch occurred just months before Patrice Talon is scheduled to conclude his second term leading the small West African nation. Bénin has experienced robust economic growth but faces increasing jihadist violence in its northern regions.

West Africa has been notably affected by political instability since the start of the decade, marked by coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger — two of Bénin’s neighbors — as well as in Guinea and, most recently in late November, in Guinea-Bissau.

On Sunday morning, following gunfire near the presidential palace, soldiers appeared on national television to declare President Talon’s removal. They cited various reasons, including the “deterioration of the security situation” and challenges to “fundamental freedoms.”

Hours later, Bénin’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, also appeared on national television to confirm that the coup had been thwarted.

Patrice Talon reiterated this in a brief address to the Nation on Sunday evening, affirming that the situation was “totally under control” and that “security and public order will be maintained across the national territory.”

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

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

After a day where most residents conducted their usual activities in Cotonou, the economic capital became deserted earlier than usual in the evening, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist.

Several military roadblocks were established in the vicinity of the presidency and the nearby Guézo military camp.

“Tonight, we’ll try to get home earlier. We don’t know who is behind this coup attempt,” 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 in the morning.

West African troops deployed

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

In the late afternoon, Nigerian aviation conducted strikes in Cotonou “in connection with the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),” according to Nigerian Air Force spokesman General Ehimen Ejodamen, who did not specify the targets.

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

The ECOWAS Standby Force is mandated to ensure peace and stability in the region. For instance, it deployed to Gambia in 2017 when the outgoing president, Yahya Jammeh, refused to relinquish power.

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

The African Union (AU) “firmly and unequivocally” condemned this attempted coup.

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

“Today, it’s as if I’m reliving what our parents experienced back then,” said Remy Agblo, a merchant, “fortunately it was thwarted.”

Patrice Talon, who has been in power since 2016, will complete his second term, the constitutional maximum, in 2026.

His designated successor, current Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is considered the overwhelming favorite for the April 2026 presidential election, with the main opposition party having been excluded from the race.

“There has been perceptible tension in the country for months due to the elections,” observed Anatole Zinsou, a computer scientist in Cotonou, who lamented the “exclusion” of certain actors from the electoral processes.

While praised for Bénin’s economic development, Patrice Talon is frequently accused by critics of having steered the country towards authoritarianism, a nation once lauded for its vibrant democracy.