President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede to send ground forces to Benin Republic as part of the Nigerian government efforts to protect the country’s democracy after Sunday’s botched coup.
Sources at the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, DHQ , Abuja, the nation’s capital confirmed on Monday that Nigerian soldiers are currently in the country keeping watch to ensure peace and stability.
In a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser, Information and Strategy, Tinubu said the federal government rose to the occasion by sending troops to save the small west African country from a military coup.
The federal government, according to the statement had earlier scrambled fighter jets to the country to displaced the coup plotters, who had announced the take over of the democratically elected government of President Patrice Talon.
Tinubu had directed the Nigerian Air Force to secure Benin’s airspace and support loyal forces working to dislodge coup plotters who had seized the National TV station and regrouped at a nearby military camp.
The Presidency noted that the Air force was sent after Benin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a Note Verbale asking for immediate Nigerian air support “in view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation and to safeguard the constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population.”
The Benin Government had also requested the Nigeria Government to deploy Air Force assets for surveillance and rapid-intervention missions under Benin’s coordination, the statement said.
The Presidency stressed that troops were sent afterwards to stabilize the situation on the approval by the “Beninese Command authority in support of the protection of constitutional institutions and the containment of armed Groups” saying the action was taken due to the urgency and seriousness of the situation and to safeguard “the constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population.”
“Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government. Our armed forces acted within the ambit of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
“They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country and have made us proud of their commitment to sustaining our democratic values and ideals since 1999. Nigeria stands firmly with the government and people of the Republic of Benin,” President Tinubu said.
Following the botched coup, sources claimed that military personnel numbering13 have been arrested, including the alleged ringleaders of the operation.
Military and security sources told AFP, that 13 arrests have been made, with all detainees in active service except one former soldier.
The attempted coup unfolded early Sunday when a group of soldiers, calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), announced on state television that President Patrice Talon had been removed from office.
Meanwhile, the African Union has condemned the attempted coup in a statement on Sunday, urging the coup plotters to return to their barracks.
AU Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf called on soldiers to “immediately cease all unlawful actions… and to return without delay to their legitimate barracks and professional obligations.”
ECOWAS also described the coup as “unconstitutional” and a subversion of the will of the Beninese people.
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