Chief Dele Momodu, the 2011 presidential flagbearer of the National Conscience Party (NCP), has narrated a providential escape from being caught in the middle of the military coup that rocked the Republic of Benin on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
A Last-Minute Change of Plans
Momodu revealed that he and his friend, Rotimi Obey, the second son of legendary musician Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, had planned a road trip from Nigeria to Accra, Ghana, early that Sunday morning. Their Beninese friend and mentee, Alex Dalmieda, was already in town to accompany them through the French-speaking borders. Everything was set for a 5 a.m. departure, with Rotimi retiring early to prepare.
The plan, however, unraveled just hours before their journey. Momodu explained that before going to bed, he asked his driver for the original copies of his car documents, only to be told that only copies were available. A frantic search of his home office in Victoria Island and another office in Ikoyi's Penthouse proved futile. With the crucial documents missing, Momodu was forced to make a critical decision at 10:38 PM.
The Divine Intervention
Faced with the possibility of complications at the border without the original papers, Momodu called Rotimi Obey to propose they fly to Ghana instead. Rotimi agreed to the sudden change. Momodu then contacted his travel consultant, Precious, at 11:15 PM to secure last-minute flight tickets. He also informed Alex Dalmieda at 11:02 PM to abort the road trip plan.
"It was at the airport we received the news of the coup in Benin Republic… We barely missed it by the whiskers…," Momodu stated in a post on his official X account, attributing the narrow escape to divine intervention with the words, "OUR GOD DID THIS FOR US."
The Coup Unfolds in a Once-Peaceful Nation
The coup was announced on Sunday by a group of soldiers calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation" (CMR). Led by Lieutenant Pascal Tigri, they appeared on state television to declare that President Patrice Talon had been removed from office. The military committee also suspended all political parties and announced the immediate closure of the country's land, sea, and air borders.
Momodu expressed shock at the events, noting that Benin has long been considered one of West Africa's most stable and peaceful countries. He connected the coup attempt to recent political tensions, stating, "The Benin’s President changed the constitution just last month to allow him extend his presidential term, this morning the military has overthrown him."
President Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman known as the "cotton king of Cotonou," was due to step down in April 2026 after a decade in power—a period marked by solid economic growth but also a worrying surge in jihadist violence. His entourage has since claimed that the president is safe and that the army is regaining control of the situation.
This event adds Benin to a growing list of West African nations that have experienced military takeovers in recent years, including its northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.
