By MMN reporter 7.12.2025
Benin Republic is the latest West African country to be affected by a military coup, but President Patrice Talon said he remains in control of the situation.
Some elements of the Benin military announced on State Television on Sunday that Mr. Talon whose ten-year tenure is due to end in April has been overthrown. The soldiers calling themselves “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said they met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.
According to reports by the AFP gunfire was heard at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure,” said a statement from the President’s office.
Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to reach the end of his second term in 2026, the maximum allowed by the constitution.
The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, and instead the ruling party will vie for power against a so-called “moderate” opposition.
Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king” of Cotonou, has been praised for bringing economic development to Benin but is regularly accused by his critics of authoritarianism.
In November the military took over in Guinea-Bissau. Already Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic sharing border with Benin in the north had military officers overthrowing democratically elected governments.