Mutineers’ bid crushed
Nigerian fighter jets reportedly delivered decisive airstrikes to smash a brazen coup attempt in Benin, where mutinous soldiers from Togbin base nearly seized President Patrice Talon in a pre-dawn Sunday assault, Benin’s government revealed Monday.
The dramatic intervention — coordinated with Nigerian ground troops —halted a mutiny that killed General Bertin Bada’s wife, kidnapped top brass, and briefly hijacked state TV, averting chaos in this vital West African trade hub already reeling from militancy.
Mutineers’ daring raid unravels
The plot kicked off before sunrise as rebels stormed Bada’s home — Talon’s military chief of staff — sparking deadly clashes that felled his wife while he fled.
Pressing their advantage, the rebels snatched Army Chief General Abou Issa and Colonel Faizou Gomina, holding them until a Monday morning release in northern Tchaourou.
President Talon himself faced the fury up close at his residence, where Republican Guard repelled attackers amid gunfire from both sides, inflicting casualties without a full toll disclosed.