West Africa awoke to a jolt of uncertainty this morning as a group of armed soldiers hijacked Benin’s state television, declaring the dissolution of President Patrice Talon’s government and the installation of Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri as head of a new Military Committee for Refoundation.
The dramatic announcement, aired around 6 a.m. local time, cited grievances over deteriorating security in northern Benin, neglect of fallen soldiers’ families, and unfair promotions within the military. Gunfire echoed near the presidential residence in Porto-Novo and Cotonou’s port area, with helicopters spotted overhead, sending residents scrambling for safety and prompting foreign embassies, including those of France, Russia, and the United States, to issue urgent stay-at-home advisories.
Benin Coup 2025: Soldiers Announce Government Dissolved on State TV | Confusion Hits West Africa [WATCH VIDEO]
Within hours, however, Benin’s Interior Minister Alassane Seidou countered the broadcast in a video statement on Facebook, asserting that loyalist troops and the national guard had swiftly neutralized the mutiny. “A small group of soldiers launched this destabilizing act early today, but the Beninese Armed Forces remained true to their oath, retaining full control and foiling the attempt,” Seidou declared, urging citizens to resume normal activities. By midday, military sources confirmed the arrest of about 13 plotters, including Tigri and other active-duty officers, with the national broadcaster secured and no further incidents reported. President Talon, described as safe and unbowed, praised the “loyalist majority” of the army for upholding the republic, as streets in the capital began to stir back to life amid heightened security.
This fleeting bid for power underscores a disturbing resurgence of military interventions across Africa, with at least 10 successful coups shaking the continent since 2020. From Mali’s double oustings in 2020 and 2021 under Colonel Assimi Goïta, driven by jihadist threats, to Burkina Faso’s back-to-back takeovers in 2022 amid escalating insurgencies, the pattern is clear: disillusioned officers stepping in where elected leaders falter. Guinea fell in 2021 to Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya’s forces over term-limit controversies; Sudan’s 2021 coup by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan unraveled a fragile post-Bashir transition into civil war; Chad’s 2021 leadership shift followed a president’s battlefield death; and Niger’s 2023 junta, alongside Gabon’s that same year, toppled dynastic or disputed regimes. Even recent attempts, like Guinea-Bissau’s in November 2025 and Madagascar’s in October, highlight the fragility of governance in the face of unrest.
At the heart of this “coup belt” stretching from the Sahel to the Gulf of Guinea lie intertwined crises: rampant youth unemployment fueling protests, unchecked jihadist expansions by al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates, and a geopolitical tug-of-war as Russia courts juntas through Wagner-linked mercenaries while Western allies like France and the U.S. push back with sanctions and aid cuts. Public sentiment, once staunchly pro-democracy, shows cracks—polls in coup-hit nations reveal up to 40% approval for military rule as a fix for corruption and insecurity, though experts warn of prolonged instability. Regional bodies ECOWAS and the African Union swiftly condemned the Benin plot, pledging support for Talon and vowing to bolster anti-coup norms, but their track record of suspensions without enforcement raises doubts. As Benin stabilizes ahead of its April 2026 polls, the incident serves as a stark alert: without tackling root economic woes and bolstering civilian oversight, Africa’s democratic gains risk unraveling further, potentially dragging neighbors like Nigeria and Togo into the fray.
