The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has carried out strikes in neighbouring Benin Republic, a senior presidency source confirmed on Sunday, in what appears to be a coordinated action with Beninese authorities working to suppress an attempted coup.
Air Force spokesman Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame stated, “The Nigerian Air Force has operated in the Republic of Benin in line with ECOWAS protocols and the ECOWAS Standby Force mandate.”
Details of the specific targets were not immediately disclosed.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, meanwhile, praised the Nigerian military for its rapid intervention following a request from the Benin government as it moved to defend its 35-year-old democracy against renegade soldiers who launched an attack at dawn.
Benin’s government had earlier announced that it had successfully prevented a coup attempt after soldiers appeared on state television claiming to have removed President Patrice Talon from office.
West Africa continues to face political instability, with recent coups in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau contributing to regional insecurity.
Talon, 67 years old, a former businessman known as the ‘Cotton king of Cotonou’, is expected to leave office in April after a decade marked by economic expansion but rising jihadist threats.
The soldiers behind the attempt, identifying themselves as the ‘Military Committee for Refoundation’, declared on state television that Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic.
However, a source close to the president confirmed he was unharmed and dismissed the plotters as a small group of people who only control the television.
The source added that the regular army was restoring order: “The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure. It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”
Interior Minister Alassane Seidou also condemned the action, calling it a mutiny intended to destabilising the country and its institutions. He said the Beninese Armed Forces had maintained control of the situation and foiled the attempt.
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