Bob Emeka 
President Bola Tinubu has lauded the Nigerian troops for their swift intervention in the Benin Republic following an attempted military coup in the neighbouring country.
President Tinubu handed down the commendation after loyalist forces in Benin, supported by Nigerian troops and air assets, fought against soldiers who besieged the country’s national television station early on Sunday and claimed to have toppled President Patrice Talon.
According to a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Government of Benin formally requested Nigeria’s military assistance in two separate communications after coup plotters led by Col. Pascal Tigri announced the suspension of democratic institutions.
The statement indicated that Tinubu acted on the request of the Benin Government, and subsequently ordered the Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to take control of Benin’s airspace and assist in flushing out the mutineers from strategic locations, including the national broadcaster and a military camp.
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“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu,” he was quoted as saying.
Tinubu, who also chairs ECOWAS, said the intervention was in line with the bloc’s Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
“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,” the President said.
Benin’s government later announced that the coup attempt had been suppressed and control restored.
