ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria confirmed on Sunday, December 7, 2025, that it deployed fighter jets and ground forces into neighbouring Benin after soldiers there launched an attempted coup against President Patrice Talon, in a dramatic regional intervention that authorities said helped restore constitutional order within hours.
In a statement issued by the Nigerian presidency, President Bola Tinubu said his government acted after receiving two formal requests for military assistance from Benin’s administration, including a call for “immediate Nigerian air support”.
Tinubu ordered Nigerian fighter jets to enter Beninese airspace and “take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the National TV and a military camp where they had regrouped,” the statement said.
Nigerian ground forces were later deployed after Benin requested support “for the protection of constitutional institutions and the containment of armed groups”.
Tinubu praised the Nigerian military for what his office described as “gallant” action and said the operation had helped “stabilise a neighbouring country”.
The Nigerian announcement followed a national broadcast by Talon, who said loyal forces had defeated the mutineers.
“Our forces stood firm, recaptured our positions, and cleared the last pockets of resistance held by the mutineers,” Talon said.
“This commitment and mobilisation enabled us to defeat these adventurers and to prevent the worst for our country. This treachery will not go unpunished.”
He added that his thoughts were with the victims of the attack and with several people who had been held by the fleeing soldiers, though he did not provide details.
According to Benin’s government spokesperson, Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, 14 suspects had been arrested by Sunday afternoon.
One security source told Agence France-Presse that all the detainees were serving soldiers except one former officer.
It remained unclear whether the alleged ringleader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, had been apprehended.
The mutineers briefly seized the state television network and announced that they had removed Talon from office and dissolved state institutions.
“The army solemnly commits to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era, where fraternity, justice and work prevail,” they declared during their broadcast.
Gunfire was reported near Camp Guezo, close to the president’s residence in Porto-Novo.
The French embassy confirmed on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” and advised French nationals to remain indoors. Cotonou, Benin’s commercial hub, was reported calm later in the day.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that all requests from Benin had been fulfilled.
“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu,” Oluyede said.
In a separate statement, Tinubu said, “Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government.
Our armed forces acted within the ambit of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country and have made us proud.”
Benin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it had requested Nigerian air and ground assets in order to “safeguard the constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population”.
The attempted coup drew swift condemnation from the Economic Community of West African States, which ordered the deployment of its regional standby force.
“ECOWAS strongly condemns this unconstitutional move that represents a subversion of the will of the people of Benin,” the bloc said.
Troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana are to support the Beninese government.
The African Union also denounced the attempt.
The unrest comes as Benin prepares for a presidential election in April, expected to mark the end of Talon’s tenure.
Last month, the country adopted a new constitution extending the presidential term to seven years and creating a Senate, reforms critics have described as a power grab.
The opposition Democrats party has already seen its leading candidate rejected by a court for insufficient legislative backing.
Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim of the International Crisis Group said recent coup attempts across West Africa reflect mounting political tensions.
“In recent days and recent months, we have all been holding our breath about what could happen in many countries that are either facing security situations that are bad, or are coming to an election,” he said.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said the attempted takeover was “a direct assault on democracy, constitutional order, and the collective will of the Beninese people”.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also weighed in, saying, “It is concerning that these coups are happening around election times in the affected countries… Soldiers have no business anywhere outside their barracks, and every decisive measure must be taken to crush any emerging appetite for subverting democracy.”
Campaign for Democracy, a Nigerian civil society group, warned that condemnations alone would not stop future putsches.
“ECOWAS would never serve the African people merely by denouncing coups,” its president, Ifeanyi Odili, said.
The crisis underscores the continuing fragility of democratic rule in parts of West Africa, where Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have all endured military takeovers in recent years.
