The whereabouts of Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri, the alleged mastermind behind the thwarted coup attempt in Bénin on 7 December 2025, remain unknown. Yet the official narrative from Niamey has just collapsed under the weight of undeniable evidence. Expert analysis and suspicious border maneuvers have exposed the Nigerien regime’s desperate attempts to conceal its involvement.
Border games that reveal a hidden hand
Niger’s insistence that Pascal Tigri never set foot on its soil is collapsing under scrutiny. Independent assessments, including testimony from French economist and former Niger advisor Olivier Vallée, confirm the fugitive’s presence across the border. Vallée’s findings dismantle Niamey’s official story by highlighting glaring chronological inconsistencies—most notably, the abrupt opening and immediate sealing of borders around the time of the failed Bénin operation.
This contradictory border policy points to more than mere coincidence. Evidence suggests Niger’s territory served as a temporary safe haven for Tigri, allowing him to regroup before vanishing into neighboring territories. Vallée’s assessment, though careful to rule out direct state involvement, underscores local complicity—or at least tacit protection—that Niamey is now frantically trying to disavow. « His last known location was in the Alliance of Sahel States, but not in Niger anymore, » Vallée stated, leaving little doubt about the regime’s indirect role in the fugitive’s escape.
Diplomatic theater masks deep contradictions
These revelations cast a harsh light on Niger’s diplomatic maneuvers. On 24 May, images of Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine attending Bénin’s presidential inauguration were broadcast as proof of a thaw in relations. Yet such staged gestures cannot erase reality. While Bénin’s authorities have offered a 20 million CFA franc reward for Tigri’s capture, Niamey finds itself trapped by its own inconsistencies. Border manipulations and clandestine shelter for the fugitive have exposed a hollow rapprochement, threatening to derail what was meant to appear as reconciliation.