Benin Soldiers Announce Coup, Government Says Control Regained

By Al Mayadeen English

7 Dec 2025 11:51

The takeover comes as the ruling coalition prepared to back Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, highlighting the stakes of Benin’s interrupted transition.

Benin’s Foreign Minister, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, said on Sunday that "loyalist forces" had regained control after a small group of soldiers briefly announced a seizure of power on state television.

“There is an attempt, but the situation is under control. Now it's a small group of military. A large part of the army is still loyalist, and we are taking over the situation,” he told Reuters.

According to Bakari, the coup plotters had only taken control of the national broadcaster for a few minutes before the signal was cut, and no wider takeover occurred.

Shortly before the government's announcement, a group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state broadcaster, declaring that they had taken control of the country. The announcement comes just months before Benin was set to hold a presidential election in April, a vote that would formally end President Patrice Talon’s tenure after two terms in office.

Talon, who has governed since 2016, had already confirmed he would step down, a decision that stands out in a region where leaders are increasingly extending their rule.

The ruling coalition had recently put forward Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as its candidate, choosing the key architect of the government’s economic programme to carry its reform agenda into the next administration. The development adds to growing instability in West and Central Africa.

Wider context

Benin has long been viewed as one of West Africa’s more “stable democracies”, especially compared with neighbors that have experienced repeated coups since 2020. Its political system is shaped by decades of post-colonial state-building after gaining independence from France in 1960. Although President Patrice Talon consolidated power during his tenure, the country avoided the deep political ruptures that destabilized Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea. Benin is also a founding member of the West African ECOWAS bloc.

Across parts of West Africa, ECOWAS has become a symbol of resentment, particularly among communities that view the bloc as an extension of foreign influence rather than a defender of regional interests. Critics argue that ECOWAS has repeatedly aligned itself with Western, especially French, political and security priorities, imposing sanctions and military threats that deepen hardship for ordinary citizens.

This anger intensified after ECOWAS sanctioned governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, moves that were widely seen by local populations as punishing entire nations rather than addressing political grievances. The perception that ECOWAS leaders are disconnected from public sentiment, coupled with longstanding frustrations over corruption, inequality, and the region’s colonial legacy, has fueled a wave of anti-ECOWAS protests and prompted several juntas to formally withdraw from the bloc.

As a result, anti-ECOWAS rhetoric now forms a central pillar of nationalist and anti-neocolonial movements across the Sahel.

Wave of coups

A coup in Guinea-Bissau last month marked the ninth successful military takeover in the region since 2020.

On November 26, senior officers announced they had assumed authority over Guinea-Bissau, shuttering borders and suspending the country's electoral process only days after citizens cast their ballots. The declaration came amid a dramatic escalation around the presidential palace, where bursts of gunfire signalled a sudden shift in control.

At the time, General Denis N'Canha, head of the presidential military office, announced that a command "composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice". Surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, he delivered the message seated at a table, projecting the image of a consolidated command intending to act with immediate authority.

Embalo, widely favoured to win the election, had already, like opposition contender Fernando Dias, declared victory before any official figures had emerged.

N'Canha justified the military move by alleging the existence of a destabilisation plot linked to the country’s well-known narcotics networks. He claimed to have uncovered a scheme “involving national drug lords” that included the “introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order”. The command also halted “the entire electoral process,” suspended “all media programming,” and imposed an overnight curfew, placing the capital under tight control.

Crisis deepens again

The crisis unfolded in a nation that has experienced four coups and numerous attempted coups since its independence in 1974.

This year’s election was especially contentious because the PAIGC, the historic independence party, and its leader, Domingos Simões Pereira, were excluded by the Supreme Court, which ruled that their paperwork was submitted too late. The opposition says PAIGC’s exclusion amounted to deliberate “manipulation” designed to tilt the contest in Embalo’s favour. Embalo has governed by decree since dissolving an opposition-dominated legislature in 2023, exacerbating tensions and accusations of authoritarian drift.

The political figures involved in this crisis reflect Guinea-Bissau’s broader fault lines. Embalo has cultivated close ties with European and Lusophone institutions, having studied extensively in Portugal and Spain and receiving honours from France and Portugal. Pereira, although pushed out of the 2025 race, also maintains deep links to Portugal and Western academic institutions. By contrast, General N’Canha and the military command represent the domestic power structure that has repeatedly positioned itself as the referee in moments of political paralysis, though often with opaque motivations of its own.

The latest military intervention risks unraveling what little stability Guinea-Bissau had managed to maintain. With two presidential hopefuls claiming victory, the electoral process suspended, and the president’s condition unclear, the country now faces yet another open-ended power struggle.