Media executive and publisher of Ovation magazine Dele Momodu has narrated how he and members of his entourage narrowly avoided being caught in the coup in Benin Republic on Sunday.
A group of soldiers in Benin announced on state television that they had removed President Patrice Talon from office.
The soldiers, under the banner of the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said they had taken control of the country and closed all borders.
Reacting on his X account, Mr Momodu said he had planned to travel by road to Accra, Ghana, on Sunday morning with Rotimi Obey, son of musician Ebenezer Obey, but the trip was cancelled after he discovered that the original car documents were missing.
“OUR GOD DID THIS FOR US… My friend ROTIMI OBEY, the second son of legendary musician, CHIEF COMMANDER EBENEZER OBEY and I were to head out to Accra, Ghana, by road, this morning. All was set and ROTIMI went to bed early so that we can set out at 5 am. But something went wrong,” he wrote.
Momodu said he searched two of his offices for the documents without success and eventually called Obey at 10:38 p.m. on Saturday to switch their plan from travelling by road to taking a flight.
“Before going to bed, I asked my driver for the originals of my car documents. He said he had only the copies with him. I searched the Home Office in Victoria Island but I couldn’t find it. I then went to the Penthouse in Ikoyi to check my other office. Still no luck. So , I called ROTIMI at 10:38 PM to give him the decision to fly instead of driving. He agreed.”
He added that a Beninese associate, Alex Dalmeida, who was already in Lagos to accompany them through the border, was informed of the cancellation around 11:02 p.m.
Momodu said a travel consultant arranged flight tickets for them shortly after and it was while they were at the airport that they received news of the coup.
“We barely missed it by the whiskers,” he wrote.
Momodu also expressed surprise at the development, stating that Benin Republic had been considered a stable West African country.
The soldiers leading the takeover announced the suspension of political parties and movement across all borders.
Reports later indicated that President Talon was safe and that the army was working to restore control.
Benin joins a growing list of West African countries that have experienced military takeovers in recent years, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
