France, Nigeria Deploy Air Power Over Cotonou as Benin Government Claims It Foiled Coup Attempt
COTONOU, Benin – December 8, 2025
Explosions rocked Cotonou on 7–8 December 2025 as a faction of Beninese security forces, supported by Nigeria and France, moved to crush an apparent coup attempt.
France and Nigeria, alongside an ECOWAS standby force, put aircraft on station over Benin’s capital as troops loyal to President Patrice Talon claim to have regained control of key sites, government buildings, and state television.
Initial reports and eyewitness accounts of airstrikes, explosions and troop movements prompted embassy warnings to foreign nationals, while residents were seen on social media celebrating the coup.
In the early hours of Sunday, a group of soldiers seized control of the national broadcaster and announced the dissolution of state institutions, naming Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri as leader of a self-styled “Military Committee for Refoundation.”
Benin’s government said forces loyal to the president rapidly regained control, and later announced arrests in connection with the attempted putsch.
Officials reported gunfire in parts of Cotonou and movement of armed groups; by evening the presidency said the situation was “under control.”
Eyewitnesses in Cotonou reported a series of loud explosions and air activity in the city. A French Air Force Beechcraft 350ER King Air Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft was reported circling Cotonou in southern Benin, with reports of air strikes by Nigerian Air Force fighter jets, as part of operations intended to dislodge the plotters.
France acknowledged increased surveillance aircraft activity over Cotonou and its embassy issued security notices after gunfire near the presidential residence was reported.
At the same time, Nigeria publicly confirmed it deployed fighter jets and standby troops as part of an ECOWAS rapid-reaction posture after receiving what Nigeria’s presidency described as “two urgent requests” from Beninese authorities for assistance.
Under scrutiny, the Nigerian officials claim the deployment was coordinated under ECOWAS standby arrangements rather than as a unilateral invasion.
ECOWAS on its role condemned the attempted seizure of power and announced the mobilization of standby forces from regional members including Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Nigeria to help restore Western political order in the wake of the coup.
Beninese authorities reported multiple arrests, reports indicate around a dozen soldiers and other suspects detained, and said several people were held in connection with the attempt to seize the state broadcaster.
At the time of reporting there was no authoritative, independently verified toll of deaths or injuries from the explosions; however, the government claims that the threat had been neutralized.
The intervention prompted debate in some quarters about sovereignty and the limits of cross-border military assistance.
