Daily Digest Online

The alleged mastermind behind last week's failed coup in Benin Republic is reportedly hiding in the capital of neighboring Togo, according to Beninese officials, setting the stage for a potential diplomatic standoff. Pascal Tigri, identified as the ringleader of the attempted overthrow, was located in the Lome 2 district of Togo's capital—an area that also houses the residence of Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe. The Hunt for the Fugitive Leader The coup attempt was thwarted by Beninese soldiers with support from Nigerian and Ivorian forces. While Nigeria conducted airstrikes against fleeing plotters, Tigri evaded capture. His trail led to Togo after intelligence revealed he had been contacted using a Togolese phone number on the day of the coup. Benin's national intelligence service has formally requested Togo's assistance in apprehending and extraditing Tigri and his accomplices. A government source stated that any failure by Togo to comply ...

In a frank television interview, President Bola Tinubu's spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has sought to explain a glaring contrast in Nigeria's security response: the swift military intervention that helped reverse a coup in the Benin Republic last Sunday, versus the protracted fight against banditry and terrorism on Nigerian soil. His explanation centers on the fundamental difference between a conventional military target and an insurgent enemy that uses civilians as shields. A "Clear Target" vs. A "Guerrilla" Enemy Speaking on Arise Television's Prime Time on Monday, Onanuga framed the intervention in Benin Republic as a clear-cut, conventional military operation. "Look at the case of Benin Republic now," he stated. "They wanted to bomb a military base in Benin. They know where to go. They coordinated where they should actually bomb." He starkly contrasted this with the domestic security crisis, describing it as ...

BOBO DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso — In a dramatic military standoff that has sent shockwaves across West Africa, the Confederation of the Sahel States (AES) forced a Nigerian Air Force aircraft carrying 11 soldiers to land in Burkina Faso on Monday, condemning the flight as an "unfriendly act" and a violation of its airspace. The incident, which saw the powerful Alliance of Sahel States—comprising the military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—place its air defenses on "maximum alert" with orders to "neutralize any aircraft" violating its airspace, marks a dangerous new low in regional relations. It comes against a backdrop of deep political fractures and a shared, spiraling security crisis that neither side has been able to contain. The Incident and Its Aftermath According to an official communique from the AES, a Nigerian Air Force C-130 transport plane was "forced to land" on December 8, 2025, at the airport in Bobo-D...

LAGOS, Nigeria — Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has provided a detailed rationale for Nigeria's ongoing electricity supply to neighboring Niger Republic, framing it as a fulfillment of a crucial long-term agreement that protects Nigeria's own energy infrastructure. He also delivered a pointed critique of the regional response to Niger's 2023 military coup. Speaking during an interview, Obasanjo explained that the arrangement is not a discretionary favor but stems from a strategic pact. He revealed that Niger Republic agreed not to construct a dam on the River Niger upstream from Nigeria's Kainji Dam—a project that could have severely crippled Nigeria's primary hydroelectric power generation. In return, Nigeria committed to supplying Niger with electricity. "International agreements should not be abandoned due to domestic pressures," Obasanjo stated, emphasizing that the symbiotic deal, which safeguards Nigeria's en...

COTONOU, Benin — The government of Benin has officially declared Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri a wanted fugitive, identifying him as the ringleader of the failed military coup that unfolded early Sunday morning. The announcement initiates a nationwide manhunt for Tigri and two other alleged key conspirators. Alongside Tigri, the authorities are seeking Captain Ousmane Samary and Captain-Major Sambieni Castro, who are accused of playing critical roles in the plot to overthrow President Patrice Talon. The move follows a brief but dramatic uprising in which mutinous soldiers, led by Tigri, stormed the national television station in Cotonou. During the short-lived seizure of the broadcaster, Tigri introduced himself as the head of a self-proclaimed "Military Committee for Refoundation" and declared that the country's leadership had been dissolved. Prior to this broadcast, the group reportedly launched an assault on the presidential residence in the ...

ABUJA, Nigeria  — The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has praised Nigeria's quick response to the recent coup attempt in the neighboring Benin Republic while simultaneously using that action to highlight the government's perceived failures in addressing domestic insecurity. In a statement released on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party commended the Federal Government for "acting promptly to defend constitutional order" in Benin. However, it immediately pivoted to a pointed critique of the administration's handling of internal security crises. Abdullahi questioned the inconsistency in the government's decisiveness, asking, "If Nigeria could respond decisively to threats abroad, why has it failed to protect citizens from banditry and terrorism at home?" He argued that the ability to act swiftly abroad "highlights the slow and haphazard response to domestic insecurity ...

The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have issued forceful condemnations of Sunday's attempted military takeover in the Republic of Benin, denouncing it as an assault on democratic order and demanding the immediate restoration of constitutional rule. The condemnation follows reports that a group of military officers, identifying as the "Military Committee for Refoundation" and reportedly led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, seized the national television station in Cotonou. In a broadcast, they claimed to have dissolved state institutions and removed President Patrice Talon from power. According to Beninese media, the group also attacked the presidential residence in the city's Le Guézo neighborhood. African Union's "Zero Tolerance" Stance In a statement released on Sunday, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Yousouf, "strongly and unequi...

COTONOU, Benin — In the early hours of Sunday, December 7, 2025, soldiers appeared on state television in Benin to announce the dissolution of the government, the latest tremor in a region shaken by military takeovers. While government forces moved to assert control, the brief broadcast from the self-proclaimed "Military Committee for Refoundation" underscored a stark reality: West Africa, once a beacon of democratic progress, is now widely described as the world's "coup belt". The attempt in Benin—a nation celebrated for its political stability and where President Patrice Talon was preparing to respect term limits—marks a troubling expansion of this crisis. It follows the ninth successful coup in West and Central Africa since 2020, with soldiers seizing power just last month in Guinea-Bissau. This new wave of military interventions, often met with public celebration, represents not a sudden collapse but the culmination of deep-seated fa...

COTONOU, Benin — The government of Benin has announced that President Patrice Talon is safe and that loyalist security forces have successfully restored order following a brief but dramatic coup attempt by a faction of soldiers on Sunday. In an official statement, the presidency dismissed the actions of the rogue soldiers, who had earlier seized the national television station to declare Talon's removal. The government characterized the group as a marginal faction with minimal influence within the military. "This is a small group of individuals who only managed to seize the television station," the statement read. "The regular army is steadily regaining control. Both the city and the entire country remain completely secure." The announcement directly countered a broadcast made by soldiers identifying themselves as the "Military Committee for Refoundation," who had declared that they had removed the president from of...

COTONOU, Benin — A military faction has reportedly launched a coup attempt in Benin Republic, attacking the residence of President Patrice Talon and seizing control of national television early Sunday. According to reports from Beninese media, soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri assaulted the presidential residence in Cotonou's Le Guézo neighborhood. The situation escalated when Tigri appeared on national television, which was reportedly under military control, and declared himself the "chairman of the military re-establishment committee." The capital, Cotonou, remains in a state of high tension. Eyewitnesses report significant troop movements and deployments around key government and strategic locations across the city. As of Sunday morning, there has been no official statement from President Patrice Talon or his administration regarding the attacks on his residence or the unfolding military action. This development marks ...