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A senior Beninese government official has told the BBC that the leader of Sunday’s failed coup is taking refuge in neighbouring Togo.
Speaking anonymously, the official said the government would request the extradition of Lt Col Pascal Tigri. Togo’s government has yet to comment.
The attempted takeover followed a wave of military coups across West Africa, fuelling fears that democracy in the region is increasingly under threat.
Nigeria helped foil the coup after President Patrice Talon’s government requested assistance, deploying fighter jets to drive mutinous soldiers from a military base and the state broadcaster’s headquarters.
A group of soldiers appeared on state television early on Sunday to declare they had seized power, and gunfire was heard near the presidential residence.
The Beninese official said the authorities knew Lt Col Tigri was in Togo’s capital, Lomé, in the same district where President Faure Gnassingbé lives.
“We don’t know how to explain this, but we will make an official extradition request and see how the Togolese authorities react,” the official said.
There is no independent confirmation of the claim.
Togo is a member of the West African bloc ECOWAS, which condemned the coup attempt.
French special forces also assisted loyalist troops, according to the head of Benin’s republican guard, Dieudonne Djimon Tevoedjre, who told AFP that Beninese soldiers “faced the enemy all day” on Sunday.
He said French forces, deployed from Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, were used for “mopping-up operations” after the Beninese army had regained control.
Benin’s government spokesman, Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, could not confirm the presence of French special forces. He told the BBC that France had mainly provided intelligence support.
ECOWAS has now deployed forces from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast to secure key sites in Benin, signalling the bloc’s renewed resolve not to allow elected governments to fall without resistance.
Benin, a former French colony, is widely regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies. It is one of the continent’s top cotton producers, though it remains among the world’s poorest nations.
Nigeria described the coup attempt as a “direct assault on democracy”.
Houngbédji told the BBC that a small group of National Guard soldiers orchestrated the uprising.
“The National Guard is a recent creation within our army, established by President Talon as part of our fight against terrorism. It is a land forces unit with significant resources, following major investment in recent years, and its personnel are well trained,” he said.
He added that Talon had asked ECOWAS to carry out airstrikes to neutralise the mutineers after intelligence suggested they planned to attack Cotonou’s main airport, putting civilians at risk.
“This led to a strategy of targeted airstrikes to immobilise their equipment, including the armoured vehicles they intended to use,” he said.
The rebel soldiers justified their actions by criticising Talon’s management of the country, accusing him of failing to address the deteriorating security situation in northern Benin.
Benin’s army has suffered casualties near its northern border with Niger and Burkina Faso, where terrorist groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have pushed southwards.
The soldiers’ statement accused Talon of neglecting the welfare of fallen soldiers’ families and criticised cuts to healthcare, including the cancellation of state-funded kidney dialysis, higher taxes and restrictions on political activities.
Talon, viewed as a close ally of Western nations, is due to step down next year after completing his second term, with elections slated for April.
A successful businessman nicknamed the “king of cotton”, he first took office in 2016 and has endorsed Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his preferred successor.
Supporters praise Talon for economic reforms, but critics accuse his government of stifling dissent. The electoral commission barred the main opposition candidate from standing in October.
The failed coup came just over a week after the overthrow of Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, though some regional figures have questioned whether that episode was staged.
Recent years have seen coups in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger, heightening concerns about instability across West Africa.
Russia has strengthened its ties with several Sahel nations, and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn from ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States.
BBC Monitoring reports that news of the attempted coup in Benin was welcomed by several pro-Russian social media accounts.
