The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced the immediate deployment of its Standby Force to the Republic of Benin following an aborted coup attempt on Saturday, 7 December 2025.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the regional bloc said the deployment, which includes contingents from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire, is aimed at “supporting the Government of Benin in upholding constitutional order and ensuring stability.”
The early-morning coup attempt saw a group of military officers briefly seize the premises of the state broadcaster, Office de Radiodiffusion et Télévision du Bénin (ORTB), in the commercial capital Cotonou.
The renegade soldiers announced on live television that President Patrice Talon had been removed from power and that a “National Committee for the Salvation of the People” headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri had taken control.
Beninese loyalist forces swiftly responded, retaking the television station after exchanges of gunfire. President Talon, who was in the country at the time, later addressed the nation, confirming that the situation was under control and that the coup plotters had been neutralised or were being pursued.
ECOWAS condemned the attempted coup “in the strongest terms” and reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards unconstitutional changes of government.
The regional body commended the rapid reaction of Benin’s defence and security forces in restoring order.
“The ECOWAS Standby Force is being deployed immediately to support the Government of the Republic of Benin in upholding constitutional order and ensuring stability,” the statement dated Sunday, December 7, 2025, read.
Reports indicate that an initial contingent of several hundred troops from the four contributing countries will arrive in Benin within the next 48 hours. The force will operate under the command structure of the ECOWAS Mission in Benin and is expected to remain in the country until the security situation is fully stabilised and all coup plotters are brought to justice.
President Talon, who has led Benin since 2016 and was re-elected in 2021, thanked ECOWAS and member states for their “swift solidarity.”
He assured citizens that normalcy had returned and urged calm.
The government has declared Monday, 8 December 2025, a public holiday to allow security agencies to complete mop-up operations.
