December 11, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
The government of Benin has formally demanded the immediate extradition of Col. Pascal Tigri, the alleged leader of a recent failed coup attempt in the country, who is believed to have fled to neighbouring Togo.
President Patrice Talon, in a strongly worded statement, urged the Togolese authorities to hand over Tigri and other fleeing soldiers without delay. He warned that Togo’s refusal to do so would raise serious suspicions about its involvement in the coup attempt.
“If the Togolese government does not extradite them to Benin, that will be the proof that Togo was involved in the coup attempt,” the statement read in part.
According to intelligence documents cited in the memo sent from Benin’s national intelligence service to Togo, four members of Benin’s military sought refuge in Togo shortly after the attempted coup. The memo also alleges that on the day of the incident, Tigri received communication from an individual using a Togolese phone number.
Benin’s intelligence service is requesting that Togo apprehend and transfer “these fugitive soldiers to the Beninese authorities” for investigation and prosecution.
Reports indicate that Tigri and others linked to the plot may be hiding in Lomé 2, a neighbourhood in the Togolese capital that also hosts the residence of Togo’s long-time leader, President Faure Gnassingbé.
President Talon has vowed firm action against all those behind the attempted overthrow, declaring earlier that “this treachery will not go unpunished.”
The standoff has raised diplomatic tension between the two West African neighbours as Benin presses for cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
