A senior government official in Benin has told the BBC that the leader of Sunday's failed coup is taking refuge in neighbouring Togo.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that the government would request Lt Col Pascal Tigri's extradition. Togo's government has not yet commented.
The failed coup came after a series of military takeovers in West Africa, raising concern that democracy is increasingly under threat in the region.
It was thwarted after regional power Nigeria sent fighter jets to dislodge the mutineers from a military base and the offices of state TV following a request from President Patrice Talon's government.
A group of soldiers appeared on state TV early on Sunday to announce they had seized power, and gunfire was heard near the presidential residence.
French special forces also helped loyalist troops to thwart the coup, the head of the Benin's republican guard said.
Dieudonne Djimon Tevoedjre said Benin's troops were truly valiant and faced the enemy all day on Sunday. He added that French forces supported mop-up operations.
The government official reported that they believe Lt Col Pascal Tigri resides in Togo's capital, Lomé, near where President Faure Gnassingbé lives, and that an official request for extradition will be made.
Togo is part of the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, which condemned the coup attempt. Ecowas has deployed troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast to secure key installations in Benin, signaling a staunch stance against the fall of civilian governments.
Benin, previously regarded as one of Africa's stable democracies, has faced challenges to its governance amid rising threats from insurgents linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda in neighboring insurgency-hit countries.
This attempted coup aligns with a troubling trend of military uprisings across the region, drawing heightened concerns about the future of democracy in West Africa.
