President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday issued a stern warning against unconstitutional changes of government in West Africa, declaring that Nigeria is closely monitoring political developments in neighbouring countries.
Tinubu’s remarks came after Nigerian troops and air assets assisted Benin Republic in putting down an attempted coup led by Col. Pascal Tigri, who briefly seized the national broadcaster and announced the suspension of democratic institutions.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President said Benin formally requested Nigeria’s military support following the mutiny. Acting on the request, he ordered the Nigerian Air Force to secure Benin’s airspace and support operations to flush out the plotters from key installations.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that all directives were carried out immediately and that Nigerian personnel were on the ground assisting loyalist forces.
Tinubu, who also chairs ECOWAS, emphasised that the region will not tolerate any attempt to destabilise democratically elected governments.
“Today, our armed forces stood firmly in defence of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin,” he said. “Nigeria is watching. We will not allow our neighbourhood to slide into instability or allow democracy to be undermined.”
Benin’s government later announced that the coup attempt had been suppressed and normalcy restored.
