Coup Attempt: Nigeria’s Intervention Averted Bloodshed In Benin, Says Minister

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Benin, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, has stated that Nigeria’s swift intervention to help thwart the attempted coup in the Republic of Benin, to a great extent, averted what would have been a serious bloodshed in the country.

The Minister made this statement on Thursday during a media briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting in Abuja, emphasising that Nigeria’s intervention, which was requested, saved his country’s democracy.

Following Sunday’s attempted coup in Benin,  Nigeria deployed airpower to ground the armada of the coup plotters, who had their camp in the midst of civilians, the Minister said,  stressing that there was no way the Republican troops would have engaged them without enormous casualties to civilians.

He pointed out that Benin and Nigeria have demonstrated to the rest of the world that democracy remains a prevailing force in the sub-region.

He said, “I think it is essential for all of us within our community and especially for the two leaders of Benin and Nigeria. So, respectively, their Excellencies President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and President Patrice Talon of Benin demonstrated clearly that the ECOWAS region remains an area where democracy prevails.

“And on behalf of the government and the people of Benin, I really want to thank my brother, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the entire people of Nigeria, and also the entire government of ECOWAS, for the support they gave to my country.

“We request the intervention under the ECOWAS protocol of Nigeria and other countries, so Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Ghana, who also offer their support, were after the request of Benin. The intervention of Nigeria, under the ECOWAS mandate, was a response to the request of the Benin authorities, not because the Benin army was unable to respond.

He also noted that Benin is now stable following the failed coup attempt, and democracy has prevailed. He also assured investors, including businessmen from Nigeria, who are investing in Benin, that “The situation is stable, and so, in the days to come, the military authorities will make the necessary decisions to see if they stay in place or if they continue.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, while also speaking to the media, said that the country’s intervention in the Benin Republic should be the norm whenever democracy is threatened in the sub-region or Africa at large.