A renegade group of soldiers in Benin on Sunday announced they had overthrown President Patrice Talon. His officials however said he was safe and loyalists in the army was regaining control of the situation.
Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king of Cotonou”, is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by solid economic growth but also a surge in bandit-related violence.
Early on Sunday, soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.
The signal was cut later in the morning.
Shortly after the announcement, a source close to Talon told AFP the president was safe.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” they said.
“It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”
A military source confirmed that the situation was “under control” and the coup plotters had not taken either Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.
The French Embassy had said on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital.
It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.
An AFP journalist in Cotonou said soldiers were blocking access to the presidency and state television.
Access to several other areas, including the five-star Sofitel in Cotonou and districts housing international institutions, were also blocked.
But there was no military presence reported at the airport and the rest of the city, and residents were going about their business.
Benin’s political history has been marked by several coups and attempted coups since its independence from France in 1960.
Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to reach the end of his second term in 2026, the maximum allowed by the constitution.
The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, and instead the ruling party will vie for power against a so-called “moderate” opposition.
Talon has been praised for bringing economic development to Benin but is regularly accused by his critics of authoritarianism.
Last year, Benin Republic prosecutors said they foiled a suspected coup attempt. In a statement at the time, , Elonm Metonou, special prosecutor at Benin’s court for financial crimes and terrorism, said Oswald Homeky, a former sports minister, was caught Tuesday night handing over six bags of cash to Djimon Tevoedjre, commander of the republican guard and head of President Patrice Talon’s security.
Metonou said the bag contained 1.5 billion West African CFA francs (about $2.5 million).
Authorities said the suspects opened a bank account in Côte d’Ivoire under the commander’s name on August 6, adding that the money was transported in Homeky’s Toyota Prado, which bore fake license plates.
