The presidency says the Republic of Benin made two separate, urgent requests for Nigerian military intervention during last week’s attempted coup, prompting President Bola Tinubu to authorise the deployment of air power and ground forces.
In a statement on Sunday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said Tinubu ordered Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets into Benin’s airspace after the government in Cotonou reported that coup plotters had seized the national broadcaster and regrouped at a military camp.
According to the presidency, Benin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note asking Abuja for immediate air support to “safeguard constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population”.
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A second request, Onanuga said, sought NAF assets for surveillance and rapid-response missions under Benin’s operational control, along with Nigerian ground troops “strictly for missions approved by the Beninese command authority”.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that both requests were carried out and that Nigerian troops were now on Beninoise soil as part of the stabilisation effort.
Tinubu, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, praised the military for acting “within the ambit of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance”.
“Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin,” Tinubu said, adding that the operation underscored Nigeria’s commitment to upholding democratic governance in the sub-region.
