The government of the Benin Republic confirmed in a detailed account on Monday that Nigerian fighter jets carried out airstrikes that helped thwart the recent coup bid, which saw mutinying soldiers get dangerously close to President Patrice Talon’s residence and kidnap two senior military officers.
The summary, published after a cabinet meeting, provides the most detailed timeline yet of the December 7, 2025, coup attempt and highlights the swift and decisive external military support that restored constitutional order.
According to Reuters, the government confirmed that soldiers from the Togbin military base began their assault by first attacking the home of General Bertin Bada, Talon’s military chief of staff. General Bada managed to escape, but his wife was tragically killed in the ensuing clashes.
The mutineers successfully seized two senior officers: General Abou Issa (Chief of Army Staff) and Colonel Faizou Gomina (Army Chief), holding them hostage until Monday morning when they were released in the northern town of Tchaourou.
The soldiers then moved to seize President Talon at his residence, resulting in violent clashes with members of the Republican Guard. The government noted there were casualties “on both sides” during this confrontation, which President Talon witnessed firsthand.
After failing to secure the President, the mutineers moved to the state television station, which they temporarily controlled before being driven out by loyalist forces.
The coup plotters retreated to the Togbin military base, where they were surrounded by loyalist soldiers and targeted by Nigerian fighter jets. The government confirmed the Nigerian strikes “immobilised armoured vehicles” but resulted in no loss of life to the Nigerian military.
Nigeria’s involvement marks its most aggressive intervention against an unconstitutional change of government since 2017 in The Gambia, contrasting with its softer approach to recent coups in the wider region.
The government confirmed that a special force from Ivory Coast also arrived late Sunday to “position itself in Cotonou for further action if necessary,” underscoring the regional effort coordinated by ECOWAS.
Mucahid Durmaz, Senior Africa Analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, explained Nigeria’s firm stance: “For Nigeria, a military coup and potential collapse of state order in Benin risk triggering cross-border insecurity, illicit trade and arms trafficking, potentially destabilising the southwest region, which the Nigerian economy is heavily reliant on.”
The analyst noted that the coup plotters cited insecurity in the north of Benin – a region battling jihadist groups and sharing a border with Nigeria – as justification for their putsch.
The whereabouts of the identified coup leader, Colonel Tigri Pascal, remain unknown, and he is currently being hunted by security forces.
President Talon, in his late Sunday address, confirmed loyal forces had cleared all resistance and vowed to punish the mutineers, describing the attempted takeover as a “senseless adventure.”
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