Benin: Pascal Tigri replaced as head of the National Guard’s Special Forces Group.
As part of the reorganization of responsibilities within the Benin Armed Forces, a new command decision was issued in April.
Pascal Tigri, the fugitive lieutenant colonel currently sought by an international arrest warrant, has been officially replaced as head of the National Guard Special Forces Group.
The appointment, formalized by an internal decision of the armed forces’ general staff, designates Battalion Chief Bossou Ayélogou Edmond as the new commander of this elite unit.
Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri was until then at the head of the National Guard Special Forces Group, a unit created in 2020 and of which he had taken command after several years of service. This role had been strengthened since 2023, when Tigri also led the Third Inter-Arms Group of the Beninese Armed Forces before being involved in the events of December 7, 2025, when a group of soldiers claiming themselves the “Military Committee for Refounding” claimed responsibility for an attempted coup.
The mutiny, quickly neutralized by forces loyal to the government, had deeply marked the national security landscape. Since then, the officer is still on the run, internationally wanted in connection with investigations opened by the Beninese authorities.
The appointment of Bossou Ayélogou Edmond therefore comes in a context of restructuring of the armed forces, aimed at restoring operational stability to the specialized units and ensuring continuity of command within the National Guard, a strategic corps for internal security missions and crisis response.
