HARARE, December 8. /TASS/. Nigeria has sent troops into neighboring Benin at the request of its government following the failed coup attempt, based on This Day newspaper report citing Nigerian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff General Olufemi Oluyede.
The Nigerian government views the events in Benin as a direct challenge to democracy, the constitutional order, and the Beninese people, who have consistently demonstrated their commitment to the peaceful political process.
Benin’s government requested Nigeria to deploy fighter jets to secure the country’s airspace and help remove coup leaders from the national television building and the military camp where they had barricaded themselves. Abuja also received a request to send ground troops. The exact number of jets and the size of the ground contingent have not been disclosed.
Other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – including Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire – have also dispatched forces to Benin. The regional bloc comprises a total of 12 states.
Early Sunday morning, a group of servicemen led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri took over the Benin Broadcasting Corporation building in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Tigri broadcast live from the studio and announced that a military committee had taken full power in the country and removed President Patrice Talon from office.
At the same time they seized the TV station building, the rebels attempted to capture the residence of the head of state, but were unsuccessful.
National Guard units loyal to the constitution recaptured the TV station building, which the coup leaders had used as their headquarters. Fourteen people were arrested, while some of the rebels, including Tigri, fled and are now being sought.
In a televised address to the nation, Benin's President Patrice Talon announced that the coup attempt had been suppressed.