Two high-ranking Benin Republic army officers taken hostage during an attempted coup regained their freedom early on Monday, a day after the government thwarted military takeover with support from Nigerian forces.
Reports indicated that Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou was calm with traffic returning to normal after a group of soldiers had announced a day earlier on national television they have ousted President Patrice Talon.
Later on Sunday, President Talon made his own TV appearance, assuring the country that the situation was “completely under control”.
Talon, 67, is due to hand over the reins of power in April after two terms leading the west African country, which in recent years has been hit by jihadist violence in the north.
The coup attempt follows a spate of military takeovers in west Africa, including in Benin’s northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea and, last month, Guinea-Bissau.
But Benin called on the swift help of its neighbour Nigeria, which said late Sunday it had carried out military strikes on Cotonou and deployed troops.
West African regional bloc ECOWAS has also announced military support for Benin and will meet in Abidjan on Monday. The bloc had threatened intervention during Niger’s 2023 coup but ultimately did not act.
According to military sources, two senior Beninese officers taken hostage by the coupists were released overnight Sunday to Monday.
Chief of Army Staff, Abou Issa and Army Chief, Colonel Faizou Gomina were set free near Benin’s National Guard in Cotonou. “Both of them are free,” one of the sources was quoted as saying.
It was still unknown on Monday how many people were involved in the attempted overthrow or were still missing.
Situation ‘Under Control’ – President Talon
In his address late Sunday, Talon said the country had “stood firm” and “cleared the last pockets of resistance”.
“This treachery will not go unpunished,” he said, while military sources told AFP that around a dozen soldiers had already been arrested.
According to insider sources, the coup leader, Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, is on the run while in areas around the National Guard, the road was no longer blocked off but two tanks are now stationed there as security tightens.
Also, more military tanks were seen elsewhere in Cotonou. Though several roads remained closed, others had been reopened to normal traffic by the authorities.
The front pages of most newspapers focused on the coup attempt, with the daily La Nation reporting: “The situation is completely under control, reassures Patrice Talon”, while Matin Libre’s headline read: “A coup attempt foiled”.
The Economic Community of West African States said troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were being deployed to Benin to help the government “preserve constitutional order”.
The regional bloc, along with the United Nations, former colonial power France and the African Union, has condemned the coup attempt.
Under Benin’s constitution, Talon is not permitted to run for a third term but his designated successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is considered a favourite for the presidential election in April.
The main opposition party has been excluded from the ballot on the grounds that its candidate did not have sufficient sponsors.
Though hailed for spurring economic growth, critics accuse Talon of authoritarianism in a country once praised for its democratic dynamism.
Benin’s political history has been marked by several coups and attempted coups since its independence from France in 1960.
On Sunday, some military personnel in Benin Republic announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, although his entourage said he was safe and the army was regaining control.
The 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”.
This development follows two coups in Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau in as many months. – With AFP reports
