The Minister of Interior and Public Security of Benin, Alassane Seidou, announced this Sunday (7) that the attempted coup d’état by a group of military personnel in the West African country had failed.
“In the early hours of Sunday, December 7, 2025, a small group of soldiers mutinied with the aim of destabilizing the State and its institutions. Faced with this situation, the Beninese people and their leaders, faithful to their oath, maintained their commitment to the Republic”, said Seidou in a brief message broadcast by the public television station.
“Their response allowed them to maintain control of the situation and frustrate the attempt”, guaranteed the minister. “Therefore, the government invites the population to continue with their activities normally,” Seidou added, without providing further details.
The speech was broadcast after a group of military officers assured this Sunday that they had taken power in Benin, after claiming that they had removed the president, Patrice Talon. In a statement read on the public television station in the capital, Cotonou, the military said it spoke on behalf of the Military Committee for the Refoundation of the Republic.
“The committee deliberated and decided the following: Mr. Patrice Talon is removed from his position as president of the Republic. Lieutenant Colonel Tigri Pascal is appointed president of the Military Committee for the Refoundation of the Republic, with effect from today in Cotonou”, assured those in uniform.
The situation became confusing because a source close to the Beninese Army, who requested anonymity, told EFE that forces loyal to Talon had regained control, in addition to guaranteeing that the president was safe.
However, this source did not provide details on the whereabouts of the head of state or the exact magnitude of the clashes that allegedly occurred in the capital. “It’s just a small group of soldiers who tried something. Their action was limited to appearing on television,” added the military source.
According to the local press, the Republican Guard managed to restore order at the public television headquarters where, apparently, the coup plotters were defeated. In a statement released on its social networks, the French embassy noted that “shots were reported in Camp Guezo, close to the residence of the President of the Republic”.
“For security reasons, we invite you to remain at home until further notice, while the situation is fully clarified,” added the French legation in a message addressed to its nationals.
For its part, the United States embassy indicated that it is “monitoring reports of shootings in Cotonou, as well as unconfirmed data of a coup d’état by military personnel”.
In a statement, the American diplomatic mission recommended that its citizens “avoid the region, especially Cotonou and areas close to the presidential complex.” In the capital, the streets were practically deserted and, in mid-morning, access to various means of online communication was difficult, generating uncertainty and anxiety among the population, according to the EFE Agency.
Videos broadcast by the local press showed armored military vehicles driving through the streets of Cotonou. After coming to power in 2016, Talon, re-elected president in 2021, launched a political and economic program focused on the country’s development, but his critics reproach him for this impulse having entailed the erosion of a democracy considered a model in the past.
Two of the head of state’s main opponents, Joël Aivo and Reckya Madougou, remain in prison after being sentenced to 10 and 20 years in prison, respectively, at the end of 2021.
Benin plans to hold presidential elections in April 2026. The Minister of Economy and Finance of Benin, Romuald Wadagni, was designated presidential candidate for the election by the 67-year-old Talon government coalition, who will not run for re-election after exhausting the two five-year terms provided for by the Constitution.
The coup attempt came after the military carried out a successful coup on November 26 in another West African country, Guinea-Bissau, where President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was deposed and fled abroad.
*With EFE
