Nigeria’s Air Force (NAF) conducted strikes in neighbouring Benin Republic on Sunday as part of a regional effort to contain a dawn coup attempt against President Patrice Talon.
Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the Air Force spokesman, said the operation was carried out “in line with ECOWAS protocols and the ECOWAS Standby Force mandate,” though he did not disclose the targets engaged during the mission.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, commended Nigerian troops for responding swiftly to what he described as an urgent request for assistance from Cotonou.
Tinubu said Nigeria acted to “save its neighbour’s 35-year-old democracy from collapse.”
Benin’s government earlier confirmed it had foiled an attempted power grab after soldiers appeared on state television claiming to have removed Talon from office.
The group, calling itself the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), announced it had appointed a lieutenant colonel to lead the country.
The televised declaration triggered confusion across Cotonou, where newsmen reported bursts of gunfire and soldiers blocking access to the presidential compound.
Elsewhere in the city, residents continued their daily routines as the scale of the revolt remained unclear.
A source close to the president insisted Talon was safe, describing the coup leaders as “a small group of people who only control the television.” They added that the “regular army is regaining control” and that normalcy would soon return.
Interior Minister Alassane Seidou dismissed the declaration as “a mutiny” aimed at destabilising state institutions, adding that the armed forces had “maintained control” and “foiled the attempt.”
On state television, eight soldiers armed with assault rifles accused the government of allowing insecurity to fester in northern Benin, neglecting fallen troops and favouring “unjust promotions.”
The Economic Community of West African States condemned the attempted takeover as “unconstitutional” and “a subversion of the will of the Beninese people.”
Benin, once regarded as a model of democratic stability, has witnessed episodes of political tension in recent years.
Talon, a 67-year-old businessman known as the “cotton king of Cotonou,” is expected to leave office next April after two terms defined by economic growth but rising jihadist threats along the country’s northern border.
While the ruling party is preparing to contest next year’s election, the main opposition has been excluded from the race, prompting renewed scrutiny of Benin’s democratic trajectory.
AFP
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