- Safiu Kehinde
Benin Republic has declared the alleged leader of the foiled military coup, Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, wanted over the plot.
This was disclosed in a post shared on X on Monday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Information and Strategy.
According to Onanuga,Tigri was declared wanted alongside two other soldiers identified as Cpt. Ousmane Samary, and Cpt. Maj. Cambieni Castro.
Both soldiers had appeared on the national TV alongside their fellow coup plotters to announce the military takeover of the Francophone country shortly after the attack on the Presidential palace in Cotonou, Benin Republic’s capital city.
NPO Reported that the West African nation was on Sunday thrown into a brief state of panic as gunfire were heard around Camp Guezo near the presidential residence in Cotonou, the country’s capital.
This was followed by appearance of a group of soldiers on state television, announcing that they had removed President Talon from office.
The soldiers, who identified themselves as the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), claimed they met and resolved that Talon was no longer president.
They also announced a suspension of the constitution, the closure of all land borders as well as the country’s airspace.
According to their statement, Lieutenant-Colonel Tigri will be leading a military transition council.
They justified their actions by criticising President Talon’s management of the country.
However, military intervention from Nigeria and other forces from member countries under the Economic Community of West African Society (ECOWAS) led to the foil of the coup plot.
According to reports, the attempted takeover comes barely months before Talon is expected to step down in April, raising fresh concerns in a country once regarded as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.
Benin has witnessed several coups and attempted coups since independence, though the country has enjoyed relative stability in recent decades—until Sunday’s sudden flare-up.