It's an open secret. The coup d'état of July 26, 2023, in Niger has strained relations between Benin and this Sahelian country. Porto-Novo was among the first African capitals to support an ECOWAS military intervention in Niamey to oust the military in power.

This diplomatic tension reached a peak in recent days with the expulsion of diplomats between the two countries. According to TV5 Monde, Benin expelled a Nigerien official and a police officer stationed at the Nigerien embassy in Cotonou last week.

Freezing winter between Porto-Novo and Niamey

The diplomatic source who informed the media did not specify the reasons for these expulsions.

In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, Niamey declared the chargé d'affaires of the Beninese embassy in Niamey persona non grata, giving him 48 hours to leave the country. This "icy winter" settling in between Benin and Niger may come as a surprise, because despite the already evident tensions between the two neighbors, they had never before expelled diplomats.

Questions that remain unanswered

What prompted Benin to cross this Rubicon? Why are neither Porto-Novo nor Niamey offering official reasons for these expulsions?

Is Niger suspected of having played a role in the attempted coup of December 3, 2025? These are all questions that remain unanswered and suggest that both sides are clearly afraid to call a spade a spade.

Benin's President Patrice Talon could have removed all doubt during his last appearance in Parliament, if he had named these "foreign political and military authorities" who, according to him, are involved in the failed coup of December 2025.