Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday ordered a rapid military intervention in the Republic of Benin after the neighbouring country sent two urgent requests for assistance to repel a group of mutinous soldiers attempting to overthrow its democratically elected government.
The intervention was confirmed late Sunday in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who revealed that Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets were deployed into Benin’s airspace to target the renegade troops who had seized the national television station and regrouped at a military camp.
According to the statement, Benin Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs first sent a Note Verbal requesting “immediate Nigerian air support in view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation and to safeguard constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population.”
A second request followed shortly after, asking Nigeria for continued air surveillance, rapid-response missions, and the deployment of ground forces “strictly for missions approved by the Beninese Command Authority.”
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that the requests were promptly carried out and that Nigerian troops were already on Beninese soil as of Sunday evening.
“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu,” Oluyede stated.
The political crisis erupted early Sunday when soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri stormed the national broadcaster and announced the overthrow of President Patrice Talon, dissolving democratic institutions and claiming to have taken control of the government.
However, loyalist forces, backed by Nigerian air power, swiftly reclaimed the station and dislodged the mutinous troops from their strongholds.
In a statement hours after constitutional order was restored, President Tinubu commended the Nigerian Armed Forces 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.”
Tinubu reiterated Nigeria’s solidarity with the government and people of Benin, insisting that the region must not allow anti-democratic forces to thrive.
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