OUAGADOUGOU—Former Beninese Presidents Nicéphore Soglo and Boni Yayi returned to Benin on Thursday after a 72-hour mediation visit to Niger, aimed at easing tensions between the two countries.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the two mediators, dressed in white boubous, did not make any statements upon their arrival. During their stay, Soglo and Yayi met with Nigerien Head of State General Abdourahamane Tiani and his predecessors, including Salou Djibo and Ousmane Mahamane, to attempt to reconcile the two nations.

“They left Niamey early in the morning,” accompanied to the airport by Minister of State and Interior Minister General Mohamed Toumba, the agency reported. The Beninese information site Le Matinal confirmed that the mediators did not give any declarations upon their return.

The visit followed heightened tensions resulting from the arrest and imprisonment of a team of Nigerien supervisors at the Sèmè port terminal on June 5, 2024. The team members, including the deputy general director of WAPCO-Niger, were tried and given suspended sentences for “usurpation of title and use of falsified computer data.”

In response, Niger closed the valves on the Niger-Benin pipeline and is considering turning to Chad to sell its crude oil. The border between the two countries remains closed by Niamey authorities, citing security concerns and accusing Benin of harboring terrorist bases.

After the fall of President Bazoum, Benin supported a military intervention through ECOWAS forces to reinstate the deposed president and dislodge General Tiani.