A group of soldiers have announced a coup in Benin Republic with reports indicating that the residence of President Patrice Talon’s in the Le Guézo neighbourhood was attacked by a group of military personnel led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri.
According to one of the country’s media outlet, TchadOne, the attack occured in the early hours of Sunday with Lieutenant Colonel Tigri appearing on national television later to announce that the country is now under military control, declaring himself “chairman of the military re-establishment committee.”
According to the outlet, the group,
which called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation, also announced the removal of the president and all state institutions.
In an address to the nation, Lieutenant Colonel Tigri said that they were “dismissing” President Talon who has been in power since 2016 and was due to step down next April after the presidential election.
After declaring himself president, the officer was seen reading from a script with heavily armed soldiers surrounding him.
In his speech, Tigri said that the constitution of November 2025 is suspended and all institutions are dissolved, and also declared that all activities of political parties are suspended until further notice while the land, maritime, and air borders of Benin are closed.
