Nigeria Pulls Back Fighter Jet as Benin Restores Calm After Foiled Coup Attempt

Nigeria has recalled the fighter jet it had deployed to the Benin Republic after Beninese authorities confirmed that the security situation had stabilized following a dramatic but short-lived coup attempt on Sunday. The aircraft — sent from Lagos for aerial surveillance and regional monitoring — was ordered back to base Sunday afternoon after intelligence indicated that loyalist forces in Benin had regained control and there was no longer an immediate threat to Nigeria’s territorial security.

The coup attempt targeted President Patrice Talon. In the early hours, a group of mutineers donning military uniforms launched an assault on the presidential residence. Their attack was repelled, after which they shifted tactics and stormed the offices of the national broadcaster, the Office de Radiodiffusion et Télévision du Bénin (ORTB), seizing the facility and attempting to broadcast a declaration of takeover.

As panic spread through the capital, Benin’s security forces—units of the National Guard alongside loyal army troops—mobilized quickly. They surrounded the ORTB headquarters, sealed off all exits, and moved to isolate the rebels. By late Sunday, the government had secured major installations and restored order throughout the city, according to a senior security official speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of ongoing operations.

Local media, including 24 Hours in Benin, reported that some mutineers remained barricaded inside the television compound Sunday evening. Authorities said negotiations were underway to persuade the holdouts to surrender peacefully. Meanwhile, the country’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, described the situation as a “successfully thwarted coup attempt,” citing the swift and decisive response by the armed forces.

Reports from Beninese outlet TchadOne identified the rebel group as the “Military Committee for Refoundation,” allegedly led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri. Their operations reportedly included attacking the president’s residence in the Le Guézo neighborhood and declaring Tigri the “chairman of the military re-establishment committee” on national television. However, the presidency, as quoted by AFP, confirmed that President Talon was safe, and assured that loyalist forces were steadily regaining control. “This is a small group of people who only control the television,” the statement said. “The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure.”

With the withdrawal of Nigeria’s fighter jet, the regional threat has diminished — and for now, stability has returned to the Benin Republic.