Benin’s interior minister says a coup announced earlier has been foiled

COTONOU, Benin (AP) – A coup that was announced in Benin has been “foiled,” the interior minister said Sunday in a video on Facebook, but there was no word from the president and sporadic gunshots were heard in parts of the administrative capital, Cotonou.

“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,” Alassane Seidou said. “Faced with this situation, the Beninese Armed Forces and their leadership, true to their oath, remained committed to the republic.”

Local media reported the arrest of 13 soldiers who took part in the coup earlier on Sunday, citing sources close to the presidency. It remains unclear if Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, the coup leader, has been apprehended. Gunfire was heard and soldiers were seen patrolling around some locations in Cotonou, but the city has been relatively calm since the coup attempt was announced.

Earlier on Sunday, a group of soldiers appeared on Benin ‘s state TV to announce the dissolution of the government in an apparent coup, the latest of many in West Africa.

The group, which called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation, announced the removal of the president and all state institutions. Tigri was appointed president of the military committee, the soldiers said.

Following its independence from France in 1960, the West African nation witnessed multiple coups, especially in the decades following its independence. Since 1991, the country has been politically stable following the two-decade rule of Marxist-Leninist Mathieu Kérékou.

There has been no official news about President Patrice Talon since gunshots were heard around the presidential residence. However, the signal to the state television and public radio, which was cut off, has now been restored.

The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), condemned the coup bid in a statement.

“ECOWAS strongly condemns this unconstitutional move that represents a subversion of the will of the people of Benin. … ECOWAS will support the Government and the people in all forms necessary to defend the Constitution and the territorial integrity of Benin,” the bloc said in a statement.

Talon has been in power since 2016 and is due to step down next April after the presidential election.

Talon’s party pick, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is the favorite to win the election. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.

In January, two associates of Talon were sentenced to 20 years in prison for an alleged 2024 coup plot.

Last month, the country’s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, keeping the term limit at two.

The coup attempt is the latest in a string of military takeovers that have rocked West Africa. Last month, a military coup in Guinea-Bissau removed former President Umaro Embalo after a contested election in which both he and the opposition candidate declared themselves winners.

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Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.