An armored vehicle positioned near the Benin national television station in Cotonou, December 8, 2025. OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP
Nearly a week after the attempted coup that threw Cotonou into confusion, Beninese investigators questioned the role played by the military junta in power in Niger – and, more broadly, by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a military alliance between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali – in the failed putsch.
According to several Beninese and Nigerien sources, the junta led by General Abdourahamane Tiani was warned in advance of the attempted coup in Benin on December 7, and may even have coordinated with the mutineers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri.
For the Nigerien military, as well as their allies in Burkina Faso and Mali, the rise to power of like-minded officers in Cotonou would have been a significant double gain: expanding the AES's sphere of influence and, through the port of Cotonou, gaining the maritime access they currently lack. It would also have sidelined one of their regional adversaries: Patrice Talon, who is close to French President Emmanuel Macron and an ally of France in West Africa.
Read more France led 'coordination effort' to help Benin thwart coup, says Macron aide
