Nigeria’s intervention in Benin: Was ECOWAS’s victory really the decisive turnover it needed?
Published on December 16, 2025 at 10:05 am (GMT +1)
The December 7 coup attempt in Benin was largely contained by security forces loyal to President Patrice Talon. Yet the Beninese army also benefited from critical support from Nigeria. On the evening of the rebellion, targeted airstrikes conducted inside Benin, under the banner of ECOWAS, marked a decisive moment. The bloc announced the deployment of its standby force on the very same day.
“As a rule, ECOWAS will not tolerate unconstitutional changes of government. The quick response by leaders in Benin demonstrates this doctrine,” ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray said at a summit in Abuja.
But should we read these events as a genuine victory for an organization that has often appeared powerless to halt the wave of coups sweeping West Africa? And if there is a victory, is it largely symbolic?
A Nigerian operation with a multilateral gloss?
Right after the initial strikes on December 7, Benin’s foreign minister Olushegun Bakari formally requested air support from Nigeria’s Yusuf Tuggar, followed by a renewed plea for rapid intervention a few hours later. Within this legal framework, Nigerian airstrikes targeted the Togbin camp where mutineers—led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri—had taken positions. In response to Cotonou’s request, Abuja also dispatched roughly 250 soldiers by land later that evening.
These troops are stationed at the Togbin camp and operate strictly for missions approved by the Beninese command authority to protect constitutional institutions and contain armed groups.
Crucially, ECOWAS did not announce the immediate deployment of its standby force until after the airstrikes and the movement of Nigerian troops had begun. That force includes personnel from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana.
Under international law, ECOWAS cannot authorize the use of force within a member state. On December 12, the Nigerian presidency doubled down, stating its armed forces acted within the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and governance.
Julien Antouly, an international-law lecturer at the University of Rouen Normandie, describes the intervention as a “multilateral veneer.” He explains, “The operation occurred under an ad hoc request. ECOWAS cannot authorize force inside a member state, and it does not possess its own standing military—its power rests on the decisions and capabilities of individual states.”
A senior Beninese officer echoed bluntly: “We wanted to please ECOWAS and show presence, but on the ground it was the Beninese who did the job, with help from Nigeria.”
French special forces also contributed, with elements arriving from Abidjan to secure the Togbin camp after mutineers fled, as previously reported.
The ECOWAS hard core
Amid a broader Cold War dynamic between ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States, the urgent aim was to halt the spread of coups in West Africa by shielding Benin. At the same time, the episode offered ECOWAS a chance—however symbolic—to claim a victory.
Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara actively supported Nigeria’s intervention and spoke with President Talon by phone on December 7. He also coordinated with French President Emmanuel Macron, who, along with Nigerian president Bola Tinubu, urged a swift, ECOWAS-flagged response.
This core group—anchored by Talon and strengthened by Tinubu and Ouattara with French backing—was later joined by Sierra Leone’s Julius Maada Bio, the ECOWAS chair, and Ghana’s John Dramani Mahama.
The shadows of Togo and Niger
Notably absent from the ECOWAS initiative was Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Togo’s leader and Benin’s neighbor. Reports suggested Tigri sought refuge in Lomé before moving on to another destination in the region, though the Africa Report has not verified his exact location.
Niger remains a prime suspect in the broader regional meddling. Some observers noted troop movements near Benin’s border prior to the coup, and Abdourahamane Tiani, the Nigerien junta leader who ousted Mohamed Bazoum, has repeatedly accused Benin of destabilization and even alleged that Benin hosts terrorist bases.
Meanwhile, the Togolese government has not publicly confirmed Tigri’s presence on its soil or responded to Benin’s extradition request.
Matthieu Millecamps
