Attempted coup in Benin: 30 soldiers and one civilian jailed
Thirty military personnel and one civilian arrested in connection with an alleged coup attempt were presented to the CRIET in Cotonou and placed in prison on Tuesday, 16 December 2025. The suspects appeared before the judge responsible for liberties and pre-trial detention following a judicial procedure that began the day before.
Under heavy police surveillance, the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (CRIET) has received, since Monday evening, the alleged military personnel involved in the attempted coup of Sunday, 7 December 2025. They are mostly members of the armed forces.
The first transfers to the court began on Monday, 15 December 2025. Around 6 p.m., about thirty people who had been arrested arrived at the special prosecutor’s office of the CRIET in Cotonou. The suspects, escorted by the judicial police, got out of the vehicles handcuffed, under close escort, while armed officers secured the entrances and the streets surrounding the courthouse.
A few lawyers then joined the special court, presumably to defend the accused. Opposite the building, relatives, visibly worried, awaited the outcome of the procedure, aware of the seriousness of the allegations and the scale of the case.
A lengthy judicial process
The investigation followed the various steps provided for by law. After the opening of the judicial inquiry, the arrested persons were brought before the investigating judge, then heard by the judge responsible for liberties and pre-trial detention in the early morning of Tuesday, 16 December 2025.
At the end of these hearings, the judge ordered the pre-trial detention of 30 military personnel and one civilian. They were thus placed in prison pending the continuation of the investigation and the holding of a possible trial.
This judicial decision comes in a particularly sensitive context for Benin, where any attempt to challenge the constitutional order is severely punished. In the coming days, the judicial authorities may provide more information on the charges brought and on the progress of this case, which is being closely followed by public opinion.