Nigeria’s Role in Foiling Benin Coup Attempt Critical
Insurgent troops temporarily commandeered the national broadcasting station in the early hours of Sunday, declaring Talon's removal from office and constitutional suspension. The mutineers justified their actions by pointing to what they described as worsening security conditions across Benin's northern regions.
A cabinet statement released Monday revealed the rebels initially targeted the country's highest-ranking military commanders. General Bertin Bada, the president's military chief of staff, saw his residence violently raided—an assault that claimed his wife's life. The insurgents also kidnapped General Abou Issa, the army's chief of staff, along with Colonel Faizou Gomina. Both officers remained in captivity until their Monday morning release, authorities confirmed.
"Nigeria came to our assistance by carrying out airstrikes later in the day, which immobilized some of the armored vehicles used by the mutineers," the Benin government stated.
The Republican Guard engaged mutinous forces around 5am local time as rebels attempted breaching Talon's compound, officials reported. Fighting produced casualties on "both sides" before government-loyal soldiers successfully repelled the attack. Authorities have not disclosed casualty figures.
Insurgents subsequently attempted launching additional attacks from the Togbin military installation, but government forces surrounded the facility and requested international aerial intervention, the statement indicated.
Colonel Pascal Tigri, designated as head of the abortive military regime, remains at large.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu previously disclosed ordering combat aircraft into Benin to "take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the national TV and a military camp where they had regrouped."
Tinubu explained the intervention followed dual appeals from Beninese officials requesting Nigerian ground and aerial military support.
The ECOWAS regional alliance has deployed a rapid-reaction force to bolster Benin's military in defending constitutional governance, with Ivorian special operations personnel already positioned in Cotonou awaiting potential deployment orders.
The former French territory faces a presidential ballot scheduled for April 12, 2026—an election anticipated to conclude Talon's presidency, which commenced in 2016.
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