Timbuktu Institute Week 1 - March 2026

This is undoubtedly a major turning point in Beninese political life. Former President Thomas Boni Yayi has announced his resignation from the opposition party Les Démocrates (LD), of which he was previously president. In a statement released on 3 March, he referred to a decision taken after ‘long reflection over the past few months’. He specified that it was ‘for health reasons, and in order to be able to devote this new stage of my life fully to rest’. Shortly afterwards, his son Yayi Chabi, the party's secretary for external relations, also announced his resignation. In response to this situation, a delegation from the party was sent to meet with Boni Yayi ‘in order to discuss the matter with him in more detail,’ said Guy Mitokpè, national secretary for communication for the LD party. After a crisis meeting on 6 March, the party's National Coordination announced that it was rejecting Boni Yayi's resignation. These announcements come at a time when the opposition party – excluded from the upcoming presidential election and prevented from participating in the last legislative elections – is going through a very difficult period. So, is the LD party at a crossroads? Now without any MPs or mayors and therefore unable to sponsor a candidate, the party finds itself effectively excluded from the 2033 presidential election. In other words, the future of the LD looks bleak.

Resumption of jihadist offensive in the north

After a few months of relative calm, it now appears that the resurgence of the jihadist threat in the north of the country is evident. Following the attack on 24 February against the police station in Kouandé in the department of Atacora, Benin has just suffered what appears to be its most serious security setback in a year. On 4 March, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) claimed responsibility for an attack on a position in the village of Kofounou in Karimama, in the Alibori department. According to the spokesperson for the Beninese Armed Forces (FAB), the provisional toll on the army side is 15 soldiers dead and five wounded, none of whom are in critical condition. According to the same report, Benin's response, in the form of an air strike, neutralised four terrorists and destroyed several motorcycles.

This is not the first time that the commune of Karimama has been hit by a terrorist attack. These attacks come after the government announced in early March that it was moving forward with its anti-terrorist operation ‘Mirador’. In any case, this situation, which resembles a resumption of the jihadist offensive, remains worrying, especially since the JNIM reaffirmed its intention to establish itself there with the appointment of an emir in the north of the country last February.

Furthermore, in the eastern part of northern Benin, which shares a border with north-western Nigeria, jihadist pressure is intensifying. It is undoubtedly against this backdrop that on 27 February, military officials in charge of counter-terrorism operations in Nigeria and Benin met in Cotonou to define the outlines of a cross-border strategy. The coordination of border patrols, intelligence sharing, joint operations and increased surveillance of cross-border flows are the key points of this future security cooperation agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly. This demonstrates that the Beninese state is aware that greater regional coordination is essential in the face of the growing complexity of the security threat.