“At one point, we had Tigri on the phone,” Patrice Talon’s revelations about the foiled coup

President Patrice Talon broke his silence on Thursday, December 18, 2025, to address the aborted December 7 coup orchestrated by Pascal Tigri. He laid out the behind-the-scenes of the event and strongly condemned any glorification of a criminal act.

Facing the press, the Head of State made candid remarks about the scene. “At one point we had Tigri on the phone. We told him ‘what you’re doing is crazy.’ He asked that they not be bombed”, President Patrice Talon said.

According to Patrice Talon, some mutineers tried to flee in civilian clothes and on motorcycles, while Pascal Tigri left the Togbin camp by car, also dressed in civilian clothes. The president stressed that the attack was not carried out by the National Guard or its command. “they are just a few misguided people, manipulated by nostalgic supporters and jealous rivals”, he clarified.

On moral grounds, the president reminded people that “rejoicing at a crime is condemnable. You can’t publicly applaud a crime or publicly celebrate a crime”. He took the opportunity to condemn any glorification of the attempted coup.