Nigeria deploys troops to assist Benin in counter-coup operation

8/12/2025 15:18

At Benin's request, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered Nigerian armed forces to help Benin dislodge coup plotters, the president's office said in a statement on Sunday.



Benin requested immediate Nigerian air support, the deployment of Nigerian Air Force assets within Beninese airspace, and the Nigerian ground forces, to help protect Benin's constitutional order and institutions, and ensure the security of the population, it said.



Nigeria's Chief of Defense Staff Olufemi Oluyede said that all the requests had been fulfilled.



"It took some hours before the government's loyal forces, assisted by Nigeria, took control and flushed out the coup plotters from the National TV," said the statement.



The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission on Sunday said that it had ordered the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force to Benin, which was composed of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, to assist the government and military in maintaining the country's constitutional order and territorial integrity.