A former Beninese state minister and vice-president of the main opposition party, Les Démocrates, Alassane Tigri, has been placed under an arrest warrant in connection with the attempted coup of December 7, 2025.
He was arrested on Wednesday, January 28, at his residence in Cotonou following an order issued by an investigating judge of the Court for the Repression of Economic Crimes and Terrorism. On Thursday, he was brought before the Investigating Commission and later appeared before the judge of freedoms and detention with his lawyer, a process that lasted several hours before ending with a decision to remand him in custody.
The detention comes more than a month after the failed attack, which authorities say was carried out by mutineers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri of the National Guard, who remains at large along with several accomplices, prompting Benin to seek international assistance for their arrest.
The incident was neutralized following a regional military intervention that led to the retreat of the attackers, but it resulted in the deaths of two people, including a Republican Guard soldier.
Alassane Tigri’s imprisonment occurs amid heightened political tension ahead of the presidential election, from which his party has been excluded due to a lack of required endorsements, further deepening divisions within the country’s political landscape.
