Benin’s dollar bonds took a sharp hit on Monday, dropping up to 1.8 cents on the dollar after a botched coup attempt the day before left markets jittery over the West African nation’s political future. President Patrice Talon announced that loyal troops had crushed the mutiny by a handful of soldiers in Cotonou, the economic hub, vowing “this treachery will not go unpunished.” The incident, the first serious challenge to Talon’s rule since 2016, has investors eyeing risks in a region already battered by a wave of military takeovers.
Tradeweb figures showed the 2052 bond dipping to 88.04 cents on the euro, with longer-term issues like the 2038 maturity shedding just over one cent after initial heavier losses. This slide comes amid broader worries about West African stability, where political unrest often triggers capital flight and higher borrowing costs for emerging markets like Benin, which relies on cotton exports and port revenues for growth.
The drama unfolded early on December 7, 2025, when soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri stormed state TV in Cotonou, declaring Talon’s ouster and the birth of a “Military Committee for Refoundation.” They slammed the government for poor handling of northern Benin security threats from jihadist spillovers, neglect of fallen soldiers’ families, tax hikes, and curbs on opposition ahead of April 2026 polls. Gunfire echoed near the presidential palace and Camp Guezo barracks, with helicopters buzzing overhead and roads sealed off. By midday, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou declared the plot foiled, crediting the army’s loyalty: “The Beninese Armed Forces… remained committed to the republic.”
At least 14 suspects were nabbed, including 12 active soldiers who hit the TV station one a dismissed officer though Tigri and some accomplices slipped away as fugitives. Talon, speaking calmly on reclaimed state airwaves that evening, praised the forces that “stood firm, recaptured our positions, and cleared the last pockets of resistance.” No confirmed death toll emerged, but Talon mentioned thoughts for victims and those held by the fleeing plotters. Cotonou stayed mostly calm post-clash, with patrols ramping up but traffic flowing normally outside key spots.
Nigeria stepped in quickly, dispatching fighter jets on Talon’s plea to seize airspace and bomb a rebel-held camp at Togbin, plus ground troops to back the pushback. President Bola Tinubu hailed it as defending “constitutional order,” calling the bid a “direct assault on democracy.” ECOWAS, the West African bloc, slammed the “unconstitutional move” as a “subversion of the will of the people” and rushed in its standby force—drawing from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Ghana—to lock down order and borders. The African Union joined the chorus, with chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf decrying it as a “grave violation” of democratic values and pledging aid to steady institutions. UN chief Antonio Guterres echoed the call, warning of more regional turmoil.
This Benin coup attempt fits a grim pattern shaking West Africa since 2020, with nine successful grabs in the “coup belt” from Mali to Gabon, plus failed stabs like this one. Mali saw two in 2020 and 2021, toppling President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta amid jihadist woes and graft claims. Burkina Faso followed with back-to-back hits in January and September 2022, ousting Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba over insecurity.
Guinea’s September 2021 coup axed Alpha Condé after term-limit tweaks, while Chad’s April 2021 takeover killed Idriss Déby in battle, handing power to his son Mahamat. Niger’s July 2023 mutiny jailed Mohamed Bazoum, sparking ECOWAS invasion threats and a Sahel alliance split-off with Mali and Burkina Faso. Further afield, Gabon’s August 2023 putsch nixed Ali Bongo’s poll win, and Guinea-Bissau’s November 2025 grab halted disputed vote counts. Sudan’s 2021 coup fueled its devastating 2023 civil war. These uprisings often cite failing security, economic woes, and elite corruption, but juntas drag feet on polls, averaging nearly three years in power—far longer than past grabs.
Benin has long stood out as a steady spot in this storm, with no successful coup since 1972’s socialist shift. The nation’s stability is closely tied to its leader. Born May 1, 1958, in Ouidah to a Fon family tied to old slave trade roots, Patrice Talon built a fortune as the “King of Cotton” via his Intercontinental Distribution Company, ginning factories, and port deals after studying in Dakar and Paris. He bankrolled ex-President Thomas Boni Yayi’s campaigns before falling out in 2012 over a poison plot charge—later dropped. Running independent in 2016, Talon clinched 65% in the runoff against Lionel Zinsou, then won 86% in 2021 despite barring rivals like Reckya Madougou on eligibility snags.
His reforms boosted cotton output to over 700,000 tonnes yearly and GDP growth to 6.6% in 2024, but critics blast media muzzles, opposition bans, and a 2024 coup plot jailings that fueled unrest. With elections looming, the timing of this foiled bid—linked to northern jihadist strains from Burkina Faso and Niger—suggests plotters may have sought to act before the political cycle consolidates or security deteriorates further, testing Talon’s grip as he eyes a potential exit from power.
The swift regional backup, from ECOWAS troops to Nigerian jets, signals a concerted pushback against the coup contagion that’s fractured alliances and spiked insecurity. As Benin’s bonds steady and arrests mount, the focus shifts to mopping up fugitives and prepping for polls that could redefine West Africa’s economic ties and democratic hopes in a hotspot of unrest. The failed mutiny, while quashed, serves as a stark reminder that no nation in the region is immune to the pressures tearing at its fragile political fabric.