Nigeria has formally acknowledged launching a military intervention in the Republic of Benin to help crush a brief coup attempt, a move that marks one of the most assertive regional security actions West Africa has witnessed in years. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced that the deployment was carried out at the request of Benin’s government and fully aligned with ECOWAS democratic protocols. He said Nigerian forces acted “as a defender and protector of constitutional order,” noting that the mission reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to safeguarding democratic institutions across the region.
The intervention followed two separate requests from the government of Benin after mutinous soldiers, led by Colonel Pascal Tigri, seized national television and claimed to dissolve the government on Sunday morning. Loyalist units were quickly overwhelmed, prompting Benin to call on Nigeria for air and ground support to dislodge the coup plotters and restore control of key installations. According to a Statehouse release, Benin’s first request sought immediate Nigerian Air Force operations to reclaim the national broadcaster and a military camp where the rebels had regrouped. The second request asked for aerial surveillance, rapid intervention assets and the limited deployment of ground forces under Beninese command oversight.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that the Nigerian military executed all requested operations, adding that ground personnel were already in Benin to support stabilisation efforts. He said the mission was carried out under direct orders from President Tinubu and within the operational bounds of ECOWAS regulations on democracy and good governance.
The coup attempt in Benin, once considered one of West Africa’s most reliable coastal democracies, collapsed within hours. The mutineers were unable to expand their control beyond the national broadcaster, and the swift joint response of loyalist forces and Nigerian units prevented the situation from escalating. Security analysts say the intervention signals Nigeria’s willingness to reassert itself as a regional stabiliser after years of limited external operations. They argue it also sends a strong deterrent message to military factions across the region that ECOWAS-aligned responses can be fast and forceful.
Nigeria’s involvement, however, introduces new layers to Benin’s political and security landscape. While democratic order has been restored, the presence of foreign military assistance may raise questions for investors assessing risk in West Africa’s coastal corridor. The region has already faced heightened geopolitical attention after a wave of coups in the Sahel and growing concerns about instability drifting southward.
ECOWAS said it will continue working with Benin to consolidate security gains, strengthen institutions and prevent further attempts to undermine democratic governance. For now, constitutional order has been reinstated, but the episode underscores how delicate stability has become in a region where political tremors increasingly ripple across borders.
Benin troops announce President’s ouster on state TV in apparent coup
