Benin’s failed coup leader fled to neighboring Togo seeking for refuge
Benin government officials announced that the leader of the failed coup attempt, Colonel Pascal Tigre, had taken refuge in neighboring Togo and demanded his immediate extradition.
“Tigray and others allegedly involved in the coup attempt are hiding in a neighborhood in the Togolese capital Lome known as Lome 2, which also houses the residence of President Faure Gnassingbe,” according to Benin government officials.
The Togolese government didn’t extradite the soldiers, Benin would consider it “evidence of Togo’s involvement in the coup attempt”.
According to the Beninese intelligence service, who sent a memorandum to their Togolese counterpart stating that four members of the Beninese army had taken refuge in Togo and that on the day of the coup, Tigray received a call from a person using a Togolese phone number.
The memorandum called for support from the Togolese side in order to arrest these fleeing soldiers and hand them over to the Beninese authorities.
On Sunday morning, Beninese soldiers briefly took control of state television and announced the ouster of President Patrice Talon, but the Beninese armed forces, backed by Nigerian forces and French intelligence, thwarted the attempt.
Benin government spokesman Wilfred Leandere Hongbedeji said on Sunday that 14 people had been arrested in connection with the coup attempt.
In an official speech, President Patrice Talon vowed to take revenge on those responsible for the coup attempt, which left dead and wounded.
Benin is preparing to hold presidential elections in April 2026, in which Talon won’t participate, but he has chosen his finance minister, Romuald Wadani, as his successor candidate.
