Benin thwarted a coup attempt by military officers who claimed to have ousted President Patrice Talon, months before national elections in which he is due to hand over to a successor.

Benin’s neighbors condemned the attempted takeover and the Economic Community of West African States said that troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone will be dispatched to Benin in support of the government.

Earlier Sunday, soldiers identifying as the Comité Militaire pour la Refondation claimed to have taken control in response to worsening security in the north, economic mismanagement and “widespread abuses under Talon’s administration.”

“A group of soldiers, under the pretext of fallacious claims, undertook a mutiny in order to attack the institutions of the republic and destabilize our nation,” Talon responded in a televised address, adding the government has taken control and that the perpetrators “will not remain unpunished.”

While authorities quickly brought the attempted coup under control, the episode could signal risks for investors, potentially slowing economic momentum and reducing the country’s investment appeal, Léopold Adjakpa, Executive Director of the Private Investors Council in Benin, said by phone.

Benin has roughly $2.6 billion of Euro bonds of various maturities outstanding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Authorities have arrested a dozen soldiers over the incident, Agence France-Presse reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Had the attempt succeeded, Benin would have become the ninth country in the region to experience a coup since 2020.

Nigeria’s air force struck targets in Benin in an apparent coordination with the Beninese authorities to contain the coup attempt, AFP reported, citing a Nigerian presidency source.

A former businessman, Talon secured a second term in 2021 with 86% of the vote after the main opposition party leader and ex-President Thomas Boni Yayi was barred from running. He’s set to step down in 2026 and has chosen Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni — widely credited with guiding Benin’s strong economic performance — as his successor for the April elections.

One of Africa’s top cotton producers, Benin has sought to diversify an economy that grew 6.7% in 2024, compared with 6.4% the previous year, according to World Bank data. That apparent economic progress has unfolded alongside the arrest of political opponents and a growing Islamist insurgency in the country’s north.

Benin remains one of African’s poorest nations, with GDP per capita of about $1,500, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Juntas have seized control in a belt of countries that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea since 2020, with Mali, Niger, Guinea and Burkina Faso also under military rule. The takeovers have been rooted in economic malaise and weak governance that have fed frustration among civilians and the spread of extremist violence.

Coup soldiers announced on state television early Sunday that the had suspended all institutions and political party activities.

Residents reported hearing gunfire in Cotonou early Sunday, as police and military forces positioned themselves at key intersections and around the port. The French Embassy said on Facebook that shots were heard near the president’s residence around 8 a.m.

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(With assistance from Baudelaire Mieu.)

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