Benin’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, has announced that the country’s armed forces successfully foiled an attempted military coup on Sunday after a group of soldiers briefly seized state television to declare they had taken power.
The minister said in an official statement that loyal forces quickly neutralised the plotters, restoring calm and constitutional order in the West African nation.
Earlier in the day, at least eight soldiers, some wearing helmets and military fatigues, stormed the studios of the national broadcaster and announced the overthrow of President Patrice Talon’s government.
In a televised statement, one of the soldiers read a declaration on behalf of a so-called “military committee” led by a Colonel Tigri Pascal. The group claimed it had dissolved all national institutions, suspended the constitution, and closed Benin’s air, land, and sea borders.
“The army solemnly commits to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era, where fraternity, justice and work prevail,” the statement declared.
According to a Reuters report, Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari told international media that only “a small group” of soldiers was involved in the attempted takeover and that forces loyal to President Patrice Talon had swiftly moved in to restore order.
By late Sunday, the government confirmed the situation was fully under control and the coup attempt had been thwarted.
The incident marks the latest threat to democratic governance in West Africa, a region that has witnessed successful military takeovers in recent years in neighbouring Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and as well as a failed attempt in Guinea-Bissau just last month.