Soldiers announce apparent military coup in Benin

COTONOU Benin AP A group of soldiers has appeared on Benin s state TV announcing the dissolution of the cabinet in an apparent coup the latest of multiple in West Africa The group which called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation on Sunday released the removal of the president and all state institutions Lt Col Pascal Tigri has been appointed president of the military committee the soldiers noted Following its independence from France in the West African nation witnessed multiple coups especially in the decades following its independence Since the country has been politically stable following the two-decade rule of Mathieu K r kou a Marxist-Leninist who renamed the country the People s Republic of Benin President Patrice Talon had been in power since and was due to step down next April after the presidential voting Talon s party pick former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni was the favorite to win the electoral process Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors Last month the country s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years keeping the term limit at two The coup is the latest in a string of military takeovers that have rocked West Africa Last week a military coup in Guinea-Bissau removed former President Umaro Embalo after a contested ballot in which both he and the opposition candidate declared themselves winners Adetayo shared from Lagos Nigeria Source