Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, says the Nigerian Armed Forces acted strictly on the directives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the intervention that helped foil an attempted coup in Benin Republic on Sunday.
Oluyede made the clarification after Nigerian troops and air assets supported loyalist forces in Benin to dislodge mutinous soldiers who seized the national broadcaster and announced the suspension of democratic institutions.
According to a statement signed by Presidential Adviser Bayo Onanuga, the Beninese government formally requested Nigeria’s support after coup plotters led by Col. Pascal Tigri made their move at dawn.
Tinubu, acting on the request, ordered the Nigerian Air Force to secure Benin’s airspace and assist in flushing out the rebels from strategic locations, including a military camp and the national TV station.
Confirming the operation, Oluyede said the military simply carried out the Commander-in-Chief’s directives.
“Ours is to comply with the order of President Tinubu,” he said. “Once the instruction was given, we moved immediately to support the restoration of constitutional order.”
Tinubu, who chairs ECOWAS, stressed that the intervention aligned with the bloc’s commitment to protecting democracy in the region.
Benin’s government later announced that the coup attempt had been suppressed and stability restored.
