Benin Republic Narrowly Dodges Military Coup as Mutinous Soldiers Storm State TV in Failed Power Grab
By: Juba Global News Network Cotonou, Benin – December 9, 2025 In a grim echo of West Africa’s ongoing instability, Benin just barely managed to sidestep a
By: Juba Global News Network
Cotonou, Benin – December 9, 2025
In a grim echo of West Africa’s ongoing instability, Benin just barely managed to sidestep a military coup d’état on the night of December 7, after a band of rebellious soldiers briefly took over the studios of the state-run Benin Television (BTV) in Cotonou, the commercial hub. Around 8:17 pm local time, troops—heavily armed and clad in fatigues—burst into the headquarters of the national broadcaster. Forcing BTV technicians at gunpoint, the mutineers had a pre-recorded message played, declaring “the immediate dissolution of all institutions of the Republic” and the creation of a so-called “National Redemption Committee.” The message, which ran for less than four minutes, insisted that the armed forces had stepped in to “save the nation from collapse, corruption, and foreign meddling.”
Within minutes of the broadcast, loyalists from the Republican Guard and the Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) rushed to surround the TV complex, engaging the mutineers in a brief but fierce gunfight. By 9:05 pm, the army’s high command put out a statement saying the situation was “fully under control,” confirming that at least twelve soldiers—among them a colonel singled out as the ringleader—had been arrested. Two of the mutineers died in the shootout, while three loyalist troops picked up injuries that, fortunately, weren’t life-threatening.
President Patrice Talon, speaking from the Palais de la Marina at 10:30 pm, labeled the incident “a desperate and treasonous act by a handful of misguided officers” and promised that authorities would “hunt down the sponsors and accomplices to the full extent of the law.” He stressed that the coup bid had been “crushed in record time,” giving credit to the professionalism and loyalty of Benin’s armed forces.
Military sources, who preferred to remain unnamed, hinted that intelligence units had noticed odd movements among certain mid-level officers in the past few weeks, but the sheer boldness and speed of Sunday night’s move still managed to catch many off guard. Early findings suggest the would-be plotters might have banked on widespread unrest in the lower ranks, fueled by delayed promotions, poor living conditions, and frustrations over political interference in military affairs.
This failed coup attempt has sent shockwaves through a region still staggering from a series of successful military takeovers in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, and more recently Guinea-Bissau. Benin, once seen as a model of stability and democracy in West Africa, had mostly managed to steer clear of the wave of coups that’s toppled elected governments since 2020. Now, though, the latest incident has reignited anxiety that no country across the Sahelo-Saharan belt can truly consider itself immune from the “coup epidemic.”
The international response wasn’t long in coming, or subtle. ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray blasted the coup attempt “in the strongest possible terms,” while praising Benin’s defense forces for their quick action. The African Union, France, and the US all put out statements backing constitutional order in Cotonou. Even UN Secretary-General António Guterres weighed in, calling the episode “a stark warning that democratic gains remain fragile in the region.”
Political analysts have pointed out that while President Talon’s government has been praised for major economic reforms and boosting infrastructure, it’s also come under fire for a tilt toward authoritarianism, including edging out major opposition leaders before the 2026 presidential vote. Whether such grievances actually played into the mutineers’ hands is, at the moment, still an open question that’s fueling plenty of debate.
As Benin now enters a 72-hour period of heightened security—checkpoints stepped up across both Cotonou and Porto-Novo—the government’s announced the creation of an independent inquiry commission to dig into every detail behind the failed putsch and to unmask any civilian or foreign support. For now, things on the capital’s streets have settled back to a sort of uneasy calm, but the memory of masked soldiers reading out a coup statement on national TV is bound to stick around—a pretty sobering reminder that, across West Africa these days, democratic stability is anything but a given.