Coup Leader from Benin Seeks Refuge in Togo Amid Political Turmoil

Wed Dec 10 2025 23:13:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Following a thwarted coup attempt in Benin, Lt Col Pascal Tigri has reportedly fled to Togo. The Beninese government is planning to initiate extradition proceedings.

A senior official in Benin reported that Lt Col Pascal Tigri, leader of a failed coup, is hiding in Togo. The attempt was suppressed with the help of Nigerian military support. As concerns grow over democracy in the region, Benin's government plans to request Tigri's extradition, pending response from Togo.

A senior government official in Benin has told the BBC that the leader of Sunday’s failed coup is taking refuge in neighbouring Togo.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that the government would request Lt Col Pascal Tigri's extradition. Togo’s government has not yet commented.

The failed coup came after a series of military takeovers in West Africa, raising concern that democracy is increasingly under threat in the region.

It was thwarted after regional power Nigeria sent fighter jets to dislodge the mutineers from a military base and the offices of state TV following a request from President Patrice Talon’s government.

A group of soldiers appeared on state TV early on Sunday to announce they had seized power, and gunfire was heard near the presidential residence.

French special forces also helped loyalist troops to thwart the coup, the head of the Benin's republican guard, which is in charge of protecting the president, told AFP news agency.

Dieudonne Djimon Tevoedjre said Benin’s troops were “truly valiant and faced the enemy all day” on Sunday, with French forces reportedly deployed to assist in efforts after the Beninese army had repelled the coup.

The government official confirmed that Lt Col Pascal Tigri was in Togo's capital, Lomé, in the same area where President Faure Gnassingbé lives. We don’t know how to explain this but we will make an official extradition request and see how the Togolese authorities will react, the official added. There's currently no independent confirmation of the claim.

Togo is part of the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, which condemned the coup attempt. Ecowas has deployed troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast to secure key installations in Benin, signalling a readiness to defend democracy in the region.

Benin, a former French colony and a cotton-producing economy, has been regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies, but its stability has been recently questioned amid rising tensions and opposition suppression under President Talon, who is due for elections in April.

The coup attempt followed a series of military takeovers in the region, heightening anxiety regarding the resilience of democratic governance in West Africa.