Benin's coup failed within hours — why did it take Nigerian jets to stop it?
Early on Sunday, 7 December 2025, eight soldiers appeared on Benin's state television. Calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation", they announced that President Patrice Talon had been removed, the government dissolved and all state institutions suspended, Al Jazeera reported. They named Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri as the committee's president.
By that evening, Talon was on the same channel, telling the nation the situation was "completely under control".
In between, gunfire was heard across Cotonou, loyal army units moved against the mutineers — and Nigeria's air force entered Benin's airspace. Benin had gone almost five decades without a coup, according to Premium Times. The failed attempt came the month after soldiers seized power in Guinea-Bissau, in a region where coups since 2020 have also hit Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger.
What did the soldiers want?
They cited the "deteriorating security situation" in northern Benin and the "disregard and neglect of our fallen brothers-in-arms", according to Al Jazeera. Premium Times reported that they also announced the suspension of the constitution and the closure of Benin's land, air and maritime borders.
Analysts quoted by Premium Times said rising insurgent attacks in the north may have contributed to the unrest. Talon has been in power since 2016, was re-elected in 2021 and is expected to step down in April 2026.
How was it stopped?
In the afternoon, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said a "small group of soldiers" had mutinied to destabilise the country and that the armed forces had "maintained control of the situation and foiled the attempt", Al Jazeera reported.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed that Nigeria had deployed fighter jets and ground troops. His office said this followed two requests from Talon's government, including for "immediate Nigerian air support".
According to presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, quoted by Premium Times, Tinubu ordered the air force to enter Benin and take over its airspace, to help dislodge the plotters from the national broadcaster and a military camp where they had regrouped. Benin, the presidency said, had requested Nigerian assets "for surveillance and rapid intervention under Benin-led coordination" and ground forces "strictly for missions approved by Benin's command authority". "All requested deployments have been carried out," Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede said.
What do we know about the Nigerian operation?
Much of the detail comes from unnamed sources. They told Premium Times that the fighter jets played a "significant deterrent role", forcing the mutineers to retreat from the broadcaster and a major military camp, and that the air force reportedly dropped explosives in parts of Benin to scare the plotters. The same sources said personnel from army battalions in Ikorodu, Badagry and Owode were mobilised across land borders to prevent a takeover in Cotonou, and that Nigerian troops remained on standby.
The framing differs. Nigeria's presidency describes the operation as Benin-led; Premium Times' own analysis credits the coup's collapse to rapid coordination led by Nigeria.
What happened afterwards?
Government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji said 14 people had been arrested, without giving details. It was unclear whether Tigri had been apprehended, Al Jazeera reported.
Talon offered condolences to the victims and spoke of people "still being held by fleeing mutineers". "We will do everything to recover them safely," he said, according to Premium Times. He vowed that the "treachery" would be punished. Calm returned to Cotonou on Monday, though many soldiers remained on the streets.
How did the region respond?
ECOWAS condemned the attempt as "a subversion of the will of the people of Benin" and ordered a regional force with troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to support Benin's army. African Union Commission chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called military interference in politics a serious violation of AU principles, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the attempt would further threaten regional stability, Al Jazeera reported.
What we do not know
- Casualties. No figures were published in the reports we opened, although Talon referred to victims.
- Hostages. How many people the fleeing mutineers held, and whether they were freed.
- Tigri's whereabouts. Unclear as of 8 December 2025. Sources also differ on his rank: Al Jazeera says lieutenant colonel, Premium Times colonel.
- The Nigerian strikes. Details of the air operation rest on unnamed sources.
What to watch next
The handling of the 14 arrested and any trials; whether Benin's grievances over security in the north, cited by the plotters and by analysts, are addressed; and the April 2026 transfer of power. Benin's case also showed how quickly a neighbour's air force can act at a government's request: within hours of a coup announcement.
Sources
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