A senior Beninese government official has revealed that Lt Col Pascal Tigri the alleged leader of Sunday’s failed coup attempt is taking refuge in neighbouring Togo, prompting plans for an official extradition request.
The official, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said Tigri is believed to be in Lomé, in the same district where President Faure Gnassingbé resides.
“We don’t know how to explain this but we will make an official extradition request and see how the Togolese authorities will react,” the official noted, though the claim has not yet been independently verified. Togo has also not commented.
The coup attempt, which came amid a wave of military takeovers across West Africa, was swiftly crushed after Nigeria deployed fighter jets at the request of President Patrice Talon’s government. Mutineers had attempted to seize a military base and state TV, with gunfire reported near the presidential residence. A group of soldiers even appeared briefly on state TV to declare they had taken power.
The coup was thwarted through a combined effort involving Beninese forces, regional troops and reportedly French special forces.
Dieudonne Djimon Tevoedjre, head of the Republican Guard, told AFP that French units from Côte d’Ivoire had joined “mopping up operations” after Benin’s military regained control — though the government spokesman, Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, later said France primarily provided intelligence support.
ECOWAS has since deployed troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire to secure key installations in Benin, signalling a firmer stance by the bloc against the spread of coups in the region.
Houngbédji said the mutiny was led by a small group within the National Guard, a recently established unit created to strengthen the country’s counter-terrorism efforts. He confirmed that President Talon requested targeted ECOWAS airstrikes after intelligence suggested the mutineers planned to attack the main airport in Cotonou.
In their statement, the rebel soldiers criticised the government’s management of worsening insecurity in northern Benin, where jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda have expanded southward. They accused the administration of neglecting soldiers killed in action and their families, and complained about cuts to healthcare services, rising taxes, and restrictions on political activities.
President Talon, a wealthy businessman known as the “king of cotton”, is expected to leave office next year after completing his second term, with elections scheduled for April. Despite praise for his economic reforms, his administration has faced criticism for curbing dissent. In October, the electoral commission barred the leading opposition candidate from contesting next year’s vote.
The failed coup occurred shortly after the overthrow of Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló — an event some observers claim may have been staged — adding to the region’s instability. Recent coups in Niger, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso have raised concerns that West Africa is sliding into a new era of military rule, with Russia deepening influence among some Sahel governments.
According to BBC Monitoring, news of the attempted coup in Benin was widely celebrated on several pro-Russian social media platforms.
With Tigri now reportedly under protection in Togo, Benin’s next steps — and the response from Lomé — may further shape regional diplomatic and security dynamics in the weeks ahead.
