The current Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has ordered the deployment of “elements of the ECOWAS Standby to Benin… with immediate effect” to “support the Government and the Republican Army of Benin to preserve constitutional order and the territorial integrity” of the country, the ECOWAS Commission said in a statement on Sunday, 7 December.
“The Regional Force shall be made up of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ghana,” said the statement, the second within 24 hours by the regional organisation following the coup attempt reported Sunday morning, which the Benin government officials said loyal forces had foiled.
In its earlier statement, ECOWAS condemned the putsch announced by military officers led by Lt.-Col Pascal Tigri.
The group cited “neglect of fallen colleagues and their families,” a reference to casualties in the fight against jihadists, and also mentioned “cuts in health care and tax rises, as well as curbs on political activities.”
President Talon appeared on state television late Sunday night hours after the reported coup attempt, stating that the “situation was now under control. “
Paying tribute to the “loyal security forces for stopping the plot,” he said: “This treachery will not go unpunished.”
Government spokesperson Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji said 14 people had been arrested in connection with the coup attempt.
Coup leader Lt.-Col Pascal Tigri on a foreign TV station
In a surprise development, Lt.-Col Tigri also appeared on a foreign television station appealing for public support for the coup, while criticizing a section of the French media for claiming that he had been killed. He also warned the French government to steer clear of Benin’s internal affairs.
Diplomatic sources in Cotonou said Talon’s presidential residence was attacked by the coup makers, before he took refuge in the French Embassy, which was under security cordon.
The statement by the ECOWAS Commission said the Standby force was being deployed “pursuant to the provisions of relevant ECOWAS instruments, in particular Article 25(e) of the 1999 Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution Peacekeeping and Security, and after consultation among members of the Mediation and Security Council at the level of Heads of State and Government.”
At least two Nigerian Air Force fighter jets were seen over Cotonou airspace on Sunday, believed to be assisting the Benin armed forces to dislodge the mutineers. French military aircraft were also said to be in action, but their mission was unclear.
Benin planned parliamentary elections in January 2026 to be followed by a Presidential poll in April. Talon, who has ruled Benin with an iron hand for 10 years, said he would not run for a third term, throwing his weight behind a favourite candidate.
Several of his political opponents are either in jail or in exile abroad. One of them, a female opposition leader and former Justice Minister, Reckya Madougou was sentenced to 20 years in 2021 for terrorism in a trial, which Talon critics said was politically motivated.
In January, two of Talon’s associates were sentenced to 20 years in prison for an alleged 2024 coup plot and last month, the country’s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, keeping the term limit at two.
The attempted putsch in Benin, which has been condemned by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) , the African Union and the Nigerian government, comes on the heels of the strange army takeover of government in Guinea-Bissau.
Critics and President Umaro Sissoco Embaló’s opponents accuse him of masterminding the coup to stop an electoral process after sensing he would lose the 23 November presidential poll.
Embaló announced the coup himself, on 26th November, a day before the electoral Commission had planned to announce the provisional results of the elections. Among the coup leaders and the 28-member cabinet are his close allies.
Already, five of ECOWAS’ 15 member States are now ruled by the military, after military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and recently Guinea-Bissau.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have quit the regional organisation to form the Alliance of Sahel States, AES.
Paul Ejime is a Media/Communications Specialist and Global Affairs Analyst
