With a diverse population of approximately 14 million today, Benin achieved independence in 1960 similarly to most of the ex-French colonies in Africa. Its post-independence period was marked by political instabilities having experienced five unconstitutional changes of power including military coups (in 1960 and 1972) and being under a dictatorial communist regime known as the Republique Populaire du Benin. Under Benin’s neo–patrimonial multi–party democracy, political continuity and social peace have been achieved at the cost of political immobilism.
Early morning on 7 December 2025 a small group of soldiers from a group calling itself the Military Committee for Refoundation (Comité militaire pour la refondation), or CMR, appeared on state television and announced that President Patrice Talon had been “removed from office as president of the republic.”
President Talon’s assumption to power in 2016, following peaceful elections, underpinned Benin’s 30-year democratic culture. He initiated a range of reforms, including an ambitious Governmental Action Plan 2016-2021 (PAG in French) and revision of the National Electoral Code as well as the edition of a new Partisan Charter.
But by 2019, he had begun to tighten his grip on power. He is set to leave office in April after two terms in office, which is the limit in Benin. Romuald Wadagni, the finance minister and a close ally of Mr. Talon, is seen as the front-runner to replace him, in part because the top opposition candidate was barred from running, The Associated Press reported.
The opposition has alleged irregularities in a vote in Parliament last month to extend presidential terms from five years to seven years and create a new legislative body that could include Mr. Talon, The A.P. reported. The opposition said that such a legislative body could give Mr. Talon significant influence after office.
Who are the coup plotters and why did they fail?
Eight soldiers appeared in a broadcast announcing the removal of President Talon, dissolution of the government and suspension of all state institutions. The coup plotters, calling themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation, were led by Lieutenant Colonel Tigri Pascal, reportedly close to former President Thomas Boni Yayi.
The soldiers said Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri had been appointed president of the military committee. In their televised statement, the coup plotters mentioned the deteriorating security situation in northern Benin “coupled with the disregard and neglect of our fallen brothers-in-arms”.
Benin’s interior minister, Alassane Seidou, said on national television that the situation was under control after a “small group of soldiers launched a mutiny with the goal of destabilising the state and its institutions.” He said government soldiers had stayed “loyal.”
President Talon appeared on national television hours later, assuring citizens the situation was under control and praising the army: “We stood firm, retook positions until we cleared the last pockets of resistance from the mutineers. This commitment and mobilisation allowed us to defeat these adventurers and avoid the worst for our country. This crime will not go unpunished.”
In January, two associates of Talon were sentenced to 20 years in prison for an alleged 2024 coup plot.
What’s Nigeria, UN, AU, and the ECOWAS’ roles?
Nigeria confirmed it was deploying troops to assist Benin’s forces in foiling the coup. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed deploying fighter jets and ground troops to Benin to help foil the coup attempt. His office said Nigeria’s military intervened after Talon’s government issued two requests for help, including for “immediate Nigerian air support”. Tinubu praised Nigeria’s armed forces for standing “as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government”.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, in a statement, “strongly and unequivocally condemns the military coup attempt” in Benin, stressing that any form of military interference in political processes is “a grave violation of the fundamental principles and values” of the AU.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in a statement also said it strongly condemned the attempted military coup and would support efforts by the government to restore order. ECOWAS said the troops it was sending to help stabilise Benin would be drawn from a 5,000-strong standby force, mobilised from four member countries and created earlier this year in response to persistent coups and insurgency in the region. It remained unclear how many soldiers might be deployed and when they would arrive.
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attempted coup, saying it would “further threaten the stability of the region”.
Did the Sahel Alliance (AES) have any role in this coup?
Russia has become the primary security partner for the Sahel Alliance. The defence pact was signed in 2023 by post-coup juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to defeat jihadists and maintain power.
Nevertheless, Benin has continued to rely on western security partners to aid its counter-insurgency efforts and bolster border security. Notably, Benin continues to welcome military cooperation with France. Since 2022 Paris has pledged greater military aid to combat terrorism.
In September, US Africa Command commander General Dagvin Anderson visited Benin to underscore cooperation to oppose terrorism. During the coup attempt, Tigri reportedly warned against French intervention and railed against “imperialism”. The speech reportedly ended with the phrase “The Republic or Death”, which echoes the new motto of Burkina Faso’s junta. Analyst says, this suggests that the coup makers may have been inspired by others in the Sahel.
What are the likely implications for Benin and the West African region?
John Joseph Chin, an Assistant Teaching Professor of Strategy and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University noted in The Coversation that, in the first 15 years after independence from France in 1960, Dahomey experienced nine coup attempts, making it one of the most coup-prone countries in sub-Saharan Africa during the early Cold War period.
Instability has rocked Africa in recent years, where nine military takeovers took place from 2020 to 2023 — a number unseen in decades. Most were in West Africa, where insurgents are expanding outward from the restive Sahel region, the site of about half of all terrorism deaths worldwide in 2023. Now, millions are being displaced in West Africa as insurgents — emboldened by successes in the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — move south toward coastal nations along the Atlantic Ocean, like Benin.
There is disenchantment with traditional political elites. Even where economies are growing, there is a desperate shortage of jobs and viable livelihoods for the region’s rapidly growing young population. Whereas the Benin rebels seem to have been motivated by a mix of army grievances and broader political and economic complaints. But they strikingly misjudged the popular appetite in Cotonou for any violent or radical system change.
Observers warn that recent events in Benin reflect a broader democratic backslide in West Africa. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger remain under military rule, with no indication of a swift return to constitutional governance. Just last month, Guinea-Bissau joined this growing list after soldiers seized power hours before the official announcement of election results.
‘‘The West Africa’s latest “copycat” coup attempt was condemned by the African Union, European Union and ECOWAS. Yet it was praised by pro-Russian social media accounts, reflecting a growing cleavage between the Russia-aligned juntas of the Sahel Alliance and the remaining Ecowas-aligned civilian regimes of West Africa,’’ they continued.
Although Nigeria-led Ecowas threatened military intervention after the coup in Niger in July 2023, the regional body only actually militarily intervened to defeat the coup attempt in Benin. Nigeria, it appears, has drawn a line in the sand to retain a buffer from further instability – including JNIM operations. On the same day of the coup attempt in Benin, it was reported that Nigeria was seeking greater aid from France to combat insecurity, Chin concludes.