A group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television on Sunday, December 7. They seized power and declared that they had dissolved the government in what appears to be another coup in West Africa.
Identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, they announced the ousting of the president and the dissolution of all state institutions, adding that Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri had been named head of the committee, multiple media reports said.
President Patrice Talon, who has been in office since 2016, had been expected to leave office next April 2026, at the end of his second term in 2026-the maximum allowed by the constitution, after the upcoming presidential election.
Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king of Cotonou”, is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by solid economic growth but also a surge in jihadist violence.
Notably, West Africa has experienced some coups in recent years, including in Benin’s northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea and, most recently, Guinea-Bissau.
His party’s candidate, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, was widely seen as the frontrunner, while the electoral commission disqualified opposition hopeful Renaud Agbodjo for lacking the required number of sponsors.
Recall, after gaining independence from France in 1960, Benin experienced a series of coups, particularly in the years that followed. The country eventually achieved political stability from 1991 onward, after the long, two-decade rule of Mathieu Kérékou, the Marxist-Leninist leader who had renamed the nation the People’s Republic of Benin.
In November, lawmakers in Benin approved an extension of the presidential term from five to seven years, while maintaining the two-term limit.
The takeover adds to a growing wave of coups across West Africa.
A week ago, Guinea-Bissau’s military ousted former President Umaro Embalo following a disputed election in which both he and the opposition candidate claimed victory.
A military source confirmed that the situation was “under control” and the coup plotters had not taken either Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org