Calm Returns to Benin After Failed Coup, Plotters Hunted

Agency Report

Five days after a dramatic coup attempt shook the West African nation, a fragile calm had settled over Benin’s economic capital on Monday.

While loyalist troops, backed by Nigerian air power, retained control of key government sites, security forces were still searching for soldiers involved in the short-lived putsch.

The attempted takeover unravelled quickly on Sunday after a faction of soldiers seized the national broadcaster, announced the ouster of President Patrice Talon, and declared themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation.” But by nightfall, forces loyal to the government—bolstered by air strikes from neighbouring Nigeria—had reclaimed the station and freed hostages, including several high-ranking officers.

On Monday, the immediate tension had eased. Traffic flowed again along the Boulevard de la Marina, where tanks had stood guard outside ministries and the presidential palace just hours earlier. Street vendors returned to their stalls, children walked to school, and the familiar buzz of moto-taxis filled the air.

Yet beneath the surface normalcy, signs of the preceding turmoil lingered. Some roads near the presidential compound remained blocked. Newspapers flew off the shelves at kiosks, as residents hungry for information formed uncharacteristically long queues.

“I don’t usually buy newspapers, but today I grabbed two, because something exceptional happened yesterday,” said Stephane Nelson, a property developer browsing headlines at a stand near several ministries. “There’s still a lot in flux.”

President Talon, who is due to step down at the end of his second term in April, appeared on national television Sunday evening to declare the situation “completely under control.” In a brief address, he sought to reassure the nation after a day of confusion and military mobilisation.

For many in Cotonou, Monday was an effort to resume daily life despite the uncertainty.

“It’s almost a normal Monday,” said an agriculture ministry employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a break outside his office. “I hope there won’t be anything else like this.”

Business owners, too, were eager to move past the disruption. Thor, a 19-year-old tailor whose shop is near a National Guard base targeted by Nigerian jets, had closed his atelier during the turmoil.

“Today, I’m here as if it’s a normal day,” he said. “I hope that doesn’t happen again, because otherwise I’ll lose money.”

Authorities have not released the names of the soldiers involved in the uprising, nor detailed how many remain at large. The swift intervention by Nigeria, which sent both air and ground assets, proved decisive in quashing the rebellion, according to officials from both countries.

As the manhunt continues, Benin—a country once seen as a relatively stable democracy in a region plagued by coups—is left to reckon with the shock to its institutions, and with the lingering question of what prompted soldiers to attempt to seize power just months before a scheduled democratic transition.

AFP