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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday praised the “gallantry” of Nigeria’s armed forces after they responded to urgent requests from the Government of the Republic to help protect its 35-year-old democracy from a dawn coup attempt.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, said in a statement on Sunday that Benin made two separate appeals for immediate military assistance after soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri seized the national television station and claimed to have overthrown President Patrice Talon, suspending all democratic institutions.
“Acting on two separate requests from the Government of Benin, President Tinubu first ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to enter the country and take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the National TV and a military camp where they had regrouped.” Onanuga clarified.
He added that in a Note Verbal issued through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Benin requested Nigerian air support “in view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation” and to safeguard constitutional order. President Tinubu subsequently authorised Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets to enter Benin’s airspace, dislodge the coup plotters from the national broadcaster, and secure a military camp where they had regrouped.
A second request sought the deployment of NAF assets for surveillance and rapid-intervention operations under Beninese coordination, as well as 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 and that Nigerian troops were now on Beninese soil.
Hours after the initial takeover, loyal forces in Benin, supported by Nigerian air and ground operations, regained control of the national television station and neutralised the coup attempt.
In a statement following the restoration of constitutional order, President Tinubu commended the armed forces for acting decisively and in accordance with regional legal frameworks.
