Tinubu Administration: Nigeria Responded to Benin’s Two Urgent Requests by Deploying Jets and Troops to Foil Coup Attempt—-The move, confirmed late Sunday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, saw Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets enter Benin’s airspace to dislodge the mutinous troops who had seized the National TV station and regrouped at a military camp.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday ordered a swift military intervention in the Republic of Benin after the neighbouring country reportedly sent two urgent requests for help to repel a group of soldiers who attempted to overthrow its 35-year-old democratic government at dawn.
The move, confirmed late Sunday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, saw Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets enter Benin’s airspace to dislodge the mutinous troops who had seized the National TV station and regrouped at a military camp.
According to the statement, Benin Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a Note Verbal requesting “immediate Nigerian air support 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.”
A second request followed shortly after, asking Nigeria to deploy air assets for surveillance and rapid-response missions under Benin-led coordination.
Benin also sought the deployment of Nigerian ground forces “strictly for missions approved by the Beninese Command authority.”
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that all requests had been carried out.
“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu” he said, noting that Nigerian troops were already on Beninese soil.
The political crisis erupted early Sunday when soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri announced on National Television that they had toppled President Patrice Talon and suspended democratic institutions.
Loyalist forces, reinforced by Nigerian air power, later reclaimed the broadcaster and flushed the putschists from their strongholds.
Hours after constitutional order was restored, President Tinubu applauded the Nigerian military for what he described as an exemplary defence of democracy in the West African region.
“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,” Tinubu said.
“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.”
Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for the Beninese government and its people, stressing that the region must not allow anti-democratic forces to thrive.
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