Nigeria authorizes troop deployment to Benin following attempted coup
A letter from President Bola Tinubu — read aloud during a Senate session on Tuesday — requested immediate approval for the operation after Benin called for “exceptional and immediate provision of air support” in the wake of an “attempted unconstitutional seizure of power.” Tinubu argued that Nigeria must act “expeditiously” due to the countries’ longstanding ties and the collective-security commitments shared within the ECOWAS regional bloc.
Lawmakers endorsed the proposal unanimously. Senate President Godswill Akpabio praised the move as essential for safeguarding regional order, noting concerns that instability in Benin could easily spill across their roughly 773km (480-mile) shared border.
According to reports from Benin on Monday, Nigerian airpower had already assisted in quelling the uprising by striking targets used by the mutinous soldiers who attempted to overthrow President Patrice Talon on Sunday. The plotters briefly occupied national television, proclaiming Talon’s removal and suspending the constitution.
Government accounts say the rebels first moved against senior military officials, kidnapping two — both later freed — and then clashing with the Republican Guard as they tried to break into Talon’s residence. The confrontation resulted in casualties “both sides,” a detailed report noted.
Nigerian aircraft reportedly targeted armored vehicles used by the rogue troops, enabling loyal forces to shut down the operation.
Authorities have detained several individuals, and Colonel Pascal Tigri — identified as the would-be leader of the short-lived military junta — has been declared wanted.
At a security meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the ECOWAS Commission’s president, Omar Alieu Touray, warned that the wider region is facing a “state of emergency” driven by coups and the “growing reach of terrorist groups.”
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