Benin coup attempt: Nigerian jets strike in counter-coup operation

Nigeria's air force has struck targets in neighbouring Benin, a source in the Nigerian presidency told AFP  Sunday, in apparent coordination with Beninese authorities working to contain a coup attempt.

Reached for comment, air force spokesman Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame said "the Nigerian Air Force has operated in the Republic of Benin in line with ECOWAS protocols and the ECOWAS Standby Force mandate".

Nigerian fighter jets reportedly delivered decisive airstrikes to smash a brazen coup attempt in Benin, where mutinous soldiers from Togbin base nearly seized President Patrice Talon in a pre-dawn Sunday assault, Benin's government revealed Monday.

The dramatic intervention — coordinated with Nigerian ground troops —halted a mutiny that killed General Bertin Bada's wife, kidnapped top brass, and briefly hijacked state TV, averting chaos in this vital West African trade hub already reeling from militancy.​

The plot kicked off before sunrise as rebels stormed Bada's home — Talon's military chief of staff — sparking deadly clashes that felled his wife while he fled.

Pressing their advantage, the rebels snatched Army Chief General Abou Issa and Colonel Faizou Gomina, holding them until a Monday morning release in northern Tchaourou.

President Talon himself faced the fury up close at his residence, where Republican Guard repelled attackers amid gunfire from both sides, inflicting casualties without a full toll disclosed.

Nigeria, Benin's powerhouse neighbour, swiftly deployed jets that neutralised rebel armoured vehicles without fatalities, restoring order as Ivory Coast's special forces rushed to Cotonou for backup.

The mutineers, repulsed at Talon's lair, seized the state broadcaster temporarily before loyalists ousted them; retreating to Togbin base, they were encircled and pounded from the air.

Coup ringleader Colonel Tigri Pascal vanished into uncertainty, his fate unknown as authorities mop up. ​

This cross-border rescue underscores regional solidarity against instability, with Nigeria acting decisively to shield Benin's fragile democracy and secure trade routes battered by militants.

No broader death count emerged post-cabinet briefing, but the swift multinational response — jets, troops, elite units — ensured Talon's power held, quelling fears of a domino-effect crisis in the Gulf of Guinea. ​