Nigeria Set to Send Troops to Benin After Foiled Coup Attempt

(MENAFN) Nigeria's Senate has authorized military deployment to Benin following a failed power grab that forced the West African nation to request emergency defense support.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu submitted a formal appeal to legislators during Tuesday's parliamentary session, presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, seeking approval to dispatch forces after Benin requested "exceptional and immediate provision of air support" amid an "attempted unconstitutional seizure of power."

Tinubu emphasized Africa's largest nation must respond "expeditiously" given "the close ties of brotherhood and friendship" and collective defense commitments within the ECOWAS regional alliance.

Lawmakers unanimously endorsed the intervention. Akpabio characterized the authorization as essential for regional security preservation, warning that Beninese instability threatens to destabilize Nigeria. The neighboring states share approximately 773km (480 miles) of common frontier.

Beninese authorities revealed Monday that Nigerian combat aircraft executed precision strikes that thwarted renegade soldiers attempting to overthrow President Patrice Talon on Sunday. The rebel troops temporarily commandeered state broadcasting facilities and proclaimed they had deposed Talon while suspending constitutional governance.

Officials in the former French territory reported conspirators initially hunted senior military commanders, including the president's top military adviser, successfully abducting two officers who gained freedom Monday morning. Armed confrontations erupted between mutineers and the Republican Guard during an assault on Talon's compound, producing casualties on "both sides," according to comprehensive government documentation.

Benin's administration credited Nigeria's air force with destroying armored equipment operated by insurgents, enabling government forces to eliminate the danger.

Multiple suspects have been detained, while Colonel Pascal Tigri, identified as commander of the brief insurgent administration, remains at large.

Addressing a security conference in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Tuesday, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray declared the West African region faces a "state of emergency" driven by upheavals including military takeovers and the "growing reach of terrorist groups."

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