₦airaland Forum

By Tunde Oso (with agency reports)


Nigeria has withdrawn the fighter aircraft it deployed to the Benin Republic after authorities assessed that the security situation in the neighbouring country had stabilised following Sunday’s attempted military coup.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the aircraft, initially deployed from Lagos for surveillance and regional monitoring, were ordered to return to base in the afternoon after updated intelligence indicated that the situation was under control and posed “no immediate threat to Nigeria’s territorial security.”

The attempted coup targeted the democratic government of President Patrice Talon and was decisively thwarted on Sunday. Mutineers, dressed in military uniforms, launched an early morning operation to seize power, beginning with an assault on the presidential residence in Cotonou. The attack was repelled, and failing to capture the president, the rebels seized the state-run Office de Radiodiffusion et Télévision du Bénin (ORTB), taking control of the national broadcast signal.

The crisis escalated rapidly, but loyalist forces, including the National Guard, responded swiftly, surrounding the television station and isolating the mutineers. By late Sunday, security forces had secured key government installations and regained full control of the capital.

“The situation is under control. The National Guard has everything surrounded,” a senior security official said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the operation. Local media reports indicated that the mutineers remained barricaded inside the television station as of Sunday evening, with negotiations underway to secure their peaceful surrender.

President Patrice Talon, reportedly safe at an undisclosed location, has yet to make a public statement. There were no immediate reports of widespread violence or casualties, and Cotonou’s streets were described as tense but calm following the initial alarms.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed on his verified X page that the coup had failed. “Mutineers in military uniform who attempted to overthrow President Patrice Talon’s democratic government have failed. They seized the National TV after failing to enter the presidential residence,” he said.

Onanuga added that Colonel Pascal Tigri, the leader of the mutineers, is on the run, while several members of the group have been arrested.

Benin’s Interior Minister, Alassane Seidou, appeared on national television to confirm that the coup had been thwarted. “Early on Sunday, 7 December 2025, a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny aimed at destabilising the state and its institutions. The Beninese armed forces and their leadership remained committed to the republic. Their response allowed them to retain control and foil the attempt,” he said.

The government urged citizens to continue their activities as normal, reassuring the public that the situation was under firm control.

garykoeman:
Some people (emergency lovers of the country) will be sad about these latest development.

Islie:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/12/nigeria-withdraws-fighter-aircraft-as-security-stabilises-in-benin-republic/

Orlandoo:
While insecurity is ravaging all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. They are unable to deploy fighter jets.

Islie:
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/12/nigeria-withdraws-fighter-aircraft-as-security-stabilises-in-benin-republic/

seunmsg:
It’s a strategic decision.

Orlandoo:
While insecurity is ravaging all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. They are unable to deploy fighter jets.

madridguy:
Mutineers in military uniform who attempted to overthrow President Patrice Talon’s democratic government have failed.

helinues:
That same fighter aircraft, why have they not deployed it to decimate the miscreants in North?