Explosions and sporadic gunfire were reported on Sunday morning at Tignon Barracks, located about six kilometres from the Cotonou airport, after soldiers involved in an attempted coup allegedly barricaded themselves inside the military facility, Casus Belli, an investigator has revealed.
According to Belli, local informants said several mutinous officers, realizing the operation had collapsed, were seen hurriedly stripping off their uniforms and changing into civilian clothes in a desperate effort to evade arrest.
The failed takeover was reportedly led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, who was declared head of a self-styled “Military Committee for Refoundation” during a brief broadcast on national television at dawn.
The mutineers announced the suspension of the constitution and dissolution of President Patrice Talon’s administration before the feed was abruptly cut off.
Hours later, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou appeared in a recorded statement, declaring the coup “foiled” and insisting that loyalist forces had regained control.
The minister assured citizens that “order is being restored,” though he offered no clarity on Tigri’s whereabouts. Security sources told SaharaReporters that the alleged ringleader may already be on the run.
Despite the government’s confidence, the ground situation around Tignon remained volatile throughout the day.
Multiple residents confirmed hearing blasts and bursts of automatic fire well into the afternoon. Others reported seeing soldiers darting through nearby streets without insignia, bags in hand, looking for informal exit routes.
“A group of coup leaders are said to have taken refuge and barricaded themselves in these barracks, while Lieutenant Colonel Tigri (the leader of the coup) is reportedly on the run and being hunted by the Beninese authorities,” the investigator said.
“Some of the soldiers in Tignon are said to be changing into civilian clothes in order to flee and escape the local authorities.”
Earlier, Belli tweeted that “three unidentified aircraft (including a military transport aircraft) were spotted on flight radar arriving in Cotonou”.
“Two of the unidentified aircraft came from Nigeria. The transport aircraft came from Ivory Coast,” Belli tweeted.
The attempted coup has jolted Benin, a country often upheld as one of West Africa’s most predictable democracies. In swift reactions, ECOWAS and the African Union condemned the mutiny, urging all actors to respect constitutional order and warning against any forceful derailment of civilian governance.
Security analysts say the coming hours will determine whether the situation has truly stabilised or whether the barracks may witness a final confrontation between loyalist units and desperate plotters refusing to surrender.
As dusk fell on Cotonou, uncertainty lingered. The number of holdouts still barricaded in Tignon Barracks remained unknown, and military checkpoints multiplied across the city.
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