How Nigeria Helped Foil A Coup In Benin
By ANITA KNIGHT
NIGERIA played a decisive role in helping Benin Republic thwart an attempted coup on Sunday, following an urgent request from President Patrice Talon. President Bola Tinubu ordered the Nigerian Air Force to secure Benin’s airspace, with fighter jets deployed to force coup plotters away from strategic sites, including the national broadcaster and a key military camp in Cotonou.
Ground troops from Nigerian battalions in Ikorodu, Badagry and Owode were also mobilised along land borders to block rebel advances. According to security sources, the presence of Nigerian jets, which dropped warning explosives in select areas, compelled the mutineers—led by Colonel Tigri Pascal—to abandon their positions.
Benin’s government confirmed that loyal forces restored control after the plotters announced on state TV the dissolution of national institutions, suspension of the constitution and closure of borders. The coup attempt, attributed partly to rising insecurity in northern Benin, collapsed within hours.
ECOWAS backed the intervention, activating a regional standby force from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff affirmed that all deployments were carried out under Benin’s command authority.
President Tinubu praised the Nigerian armed forces for defending democratic order in the neighbouring country, saying the operation aligned with ECOWAS principles. President Talon, in a televised address, mourned victims of the failed uprising and vowed to rescue those still held by fleeing rebels.
