Nigeria played a decisive role in crushing the attempted military coup in the Benin Republic on Sunday, December 7, 2025, deploying fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and ground troops that helped loyalist forces regain control after renegade soldiers seized the national broadcaster and declared President Patrice Talon ousted.
The drama began at dawn when Col. Pascal Tigri and his men stormed Benin’s national television station, announcing the suspension of democratic institutions.
As panic spread, the Beninese government sent two urgent messages to Abuja, requesting immediate military assistance to prevent the mutineers from tightening their hold on key installations.
President Bola Tinubu responded within hours. Acting on the distress calls, he ordered the Nigerian Air Force to take charge of Benin’s airspace.
Fighter jets swept in, securing the skies and providing tactical support as loyalist forces pushed back the coup plotters.
Nigeria also deployed surveillance aircraft and ground troops — strictly for operations approved by Benin’s military command — to help flush out the mutineers from strategic locations, including the national broadcaster and a military base they attempted to hold.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, confirmed that all presidential directives were executed swiftly and that Nigerian troops were already positioned inside Benin as operations intensified.
Tinubu, who also chairs ECOWAS, said the intervention aligned with the bloc’s Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and underscored Nigeria’s responsibility to safeguard stability in the region.
By evening, Benin’s government announced that the coup attempt had been suppressed — with Nigerian military support proving pivotal in restoring constitutional order.
It was learnt that ground forces were mobilised across land borders, drawing personnel from army battalions in Ikorodu, Badagry, and Owode in Ogun State, to prevent the forceful takeover in Cotonou.
Also, Nigerian air force dropped explosives in some parts of the country on Sunday to scare the coupists, while Nigerian troops are to remain on standby and respond if the plotters regroup.
