President Bola Tinubu has stated that Nigeria’s armed forces assisted the Benin Republic in thwarting a coup attempt on Sunday. The clarification was made in a statement signed by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
The statement said the Government of Benin asked Nigeria for urgent military help after soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri seized the national TV station and claimed they had removed President Patrice Talon.
According to the statement, Benin sent two separate requests. In the first, it asked Nigeria to deploy air assets “in view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation and to safeguard the constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population.”
President Tinubu then ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to enter Benin and take over the airspace to dislodge the coup plotters from the TV station and a military camp where they had regrouped.
The statement added that Benin also requested Nigerian Air Force assets for surveillance and rapid intervention operations under Benin’s coordination. It further sought ground forces “strictly for missions approved by the Beninese Command authority in support of the protection of constitutional institutions and the containment of armed Groups.”
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, said all the requests were carried out and that Nigerian ground forces are now in Benin. “Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu,” he said.
The statement said loyal forces in Benin, assisted by Nigeria, later regained control of the National TV station and restored constitutional order.
After order was restored, President Tinubu praised the Nigerian military. “Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government. Our armed forces acted within the ambit of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country and have made us proud of their commitment to sustaining our democratic values and ideals since 1999. Nigeria stands firmly with the government and people of the Republic of Benin,” the statement quoted him as saying.
