Benin’s government announced on Sunday that it had successfully thwarted a coup attempt, with President Patrice Talon appearing on national television to reassure citizens the situation was “totally under control.” The announcement followed a day of turmoil in which mutinous soldiers declared a takeover on state TV.
“I would like to commend the sense of duty demonstrated by our army and its leaders, who have remained… loyal to the nation,” Talon said during a calm, live evening broadcast.
The attempted takeover triggered a military response, with loud explosions heard in the afternoon in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and seat of government. The blasts were believed to be the result of an airstrike. Flight-tracking data showed three aircraft had entered Benin’s airspace from neighboring Nigeria before returning.
A spokesman for Nigeria’s president later confirmed that Nigerian fighter jets were deployed to “take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the national TV and a military camp where they had regrouped.”
The incident is the latest in a string of military takeovers in West Africa, raising concerns about regional stability. Benin, a former French colony and one of Africa’s largest cotton producers, has long been regarded as one of the continent’s more stable democracies. However, President Talon has faced criticism over accusations of suppressing political dissent.
Nigeria, Benin’s powerful eastern neighbor, condemned the coup attempt as a “direct assault on democracy.” The swift intervention underscored both the fragility of democratic norms in the region and the willingness of neighboring powers to act in defense of constitutional order.
By James Kisoo
