Tinubu Commends Nigerian Military for Helping Benin Repel Coup Attempt
President Bola Tinubu has commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for their swift intervention in helping the Republic of Benin foil an attempted coup on Sunday.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga confirmed the development in a statement issued in Abuja, noting that Tinubu responded to two urgent requests from Beninese authorities for immediate Nigerian air support.
According to Onanuga, Benin’s Foreign Ministry had, in a Note Verbale, asked Nigeria for assistance “to safeguard the constitutional order and ensure the security of the population.”
Acting on the request, Tinubu ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets into Benin’s airspace to dislodge the coup plotters from key locations. Benin also sought Nigerian air assets for surveillance and rapid intervention, as well as limited ground troop deployment for missions approved by its command authority.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that the military complied fully with the President’s directives.
“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief, President Tinubu,” he said.
The crisis began earlier on Sunday when a group of soldiers led by Col. Pascal Tigri seized the national television station, announcing the ousting of President Patrice Talon and the suspension of democratic institutions.
Loyalist forces, supported by Nigerian personnel, regained control after several hours of tense operations. The coup plotters were flushed out of strategic installations as normalcy gradually returned.
Tinubu praised the troops for defending democratic governance within and beyond Nigeria’s borders.
“Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin,” he said.
He added that the intervention was in line with the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and helped stabilise a neighbouring country at a critical moment.
“Our armed forces have made us proud of their commitment to sustaining democratic values. Nigeria stands firmly with the government and people of the Republic of Benin,” Tinubu said.