A senior Beninese government official has told media that the leader of Sunday’s failed coup attempt is now hiding in neighbouring Togo. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the government would formally request the extradition of Lt Col Pascal Tigri. Togo’s authorities have yet to comment.
The attempted coup comes amid a wave of military takeovers in West Africa that has raised fears about democracy’s fragility in the region.
The mutiny was halted after Nigeria, acting at the request of President Patrice Talon’s government, deployed fighter jets to push the rebels out of a military base and the state TV headquarters.
Early on Sunday, a group of soldiers appeared on state TV to announce they had seized power, as gunfire rang out near the presidential residence.
French special forces also assisted loyalist troops in putting down the coup, according to the head of Benin’s republican guard, which protects the president. He told AFP that Beninese troops had fought “valiantly” before French forces, sent from Abidjan, carried out final clearance operations.
Benin’s government spokesman, Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, could not confirm the French deployment and told media that, to his knowledge, France had mainly provided intelligence support.
The senior official also told media that Lt Col Tigri was in Togo’s capital, Lomé, in the same neighbourhood where President Faure Gnassingbé lives. “We will make an official extradition request and see how the Togolese authorities react,” the official said. There is, however, no independent confirmation.
Togo is a member of the regional bloc Ecowas, which condemned the coup attempt. Ecowas has deployed troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast to secure key sites in Benin, signalling that the bloc is no longer willing to watch civilian governments fall without resistance.
Benin, a former French colony, is often regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies. It is also one of the continent’s largest cotton producers yet remains among the world’s poorest nations. Nigeria described the coup attempt as a “direct assault on democracy”.
Houngbédji told media that a small group of soldiers from the National Guard had carried out the mutiny. He said the Guard, recently created as part of anti terrorism reforms, is well equipped and trained after significant investment.
The rebel soldiers justified their actions by accusing President Talon of mismanaging the country and failing to address deteriorating security in northern Benin. The army has suffered losses near the borders with Niger and Burkina Faso, where jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda have been expanding southwards.
Their statement also criticised the government over the treatment of fallen soldiers’ families, cuts in healthcare such as the cancellation of state-funded kidney dialysis, tax increases and curbs on political activity.
Talon, regarded as a close ally of Western countries, is due to step down next year at the end of his second term. Elections are scheduled for April. A prominent businessman known as the “king of cotton”, he first came to power in 2016 and has endorsed Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his preferred successor.
While Talon has been praised for economic development, his government has faced criticism for restricting opposition voices. In October, the electoral commission barred the main opposition candidate from standing.
The coup attempt came just over a week after Guinea Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was ousted, although some regional figures have questioned whether that takeover was genuine. The region has also seen recent coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger, contributing to growing instability.
Russia has strengthened ties with Sahel states in recent years, and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have since quit Ecowas to form the Alliance of Sahel States. Several pro Russian social media accounts praised the attempted takeover in Benin, according to media monitoring.