Benin Republic: Calm returns as Govt takes control after fail coup to oust Talon

Benin Republic on Sunday survived an attempted coup after a small group of armed soldiers failed in their bid to overthrow the government of President Patrice Talon.

The mutineers, numbering fewer than 20, stormed the state-owned Benin Television station in Cotonou but were quickly overpowered by loyal security forces.

The renegade troops, dressed in military fatigues, briefly disrupted broadcast operations before the Republican Guard and other army units cordoned off the facility.

Eyewitness accounts indicated that the group made no significant progress beyond the compound and were unable to advance toward the well-secured presidential residence in Porto Novo, located about 40 kilometres away.

By midday, the standoff had ended peacefully. Security agents re-established control of the national broadcaster without any reported casualties.

Local media organisation, 24 Heures au Bénin, reported that negotiations inside the station contributed to the mutineers surrendering their weapons.

Government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji dismissed the attackers as “a handful of misguided individuals”, assuring citizens that the situation had been contained and that there was no wider threat to national stability.

President Patrice Talon, who has led the country since 2016 and secured re-election in 2021, had not addressed the nation as of Sunday evening. Nevertheless, normalcy returned quickly to Cotonou, with traffic and commercial activity flowing steadily around the television headquarters by late afternoon.