CSOs fault hãsty NASS approval of Tinubu’s request to send troops to Benin Republic
CSOs fault hãsty NASS approval of Tinubu’s request to send troops to Benin Republic
Some civil society groups have faulted the hasty way and manner the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to send Nigerian soldiers to Benin Republic, which recently experienced a military coup.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, in its reaction to the development, described it as a sign of collapsed foreign policy.
Speaking with Vanguard, Executive Director, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, said: “We have a collapse of foreign policy that is no longer on the basis of national interest, but rather of personal interest.
“So, that is how you can just explain what has happened because I cannot understand how you are condemning and resisting America to come and carry an operation in Nigeria, and then you now, you carry without discussion, debate, without earlier approval, you deployed Nigerian Army that are needed to deal with the insecurity in Nigeria, but you prioritise taking Nigerian soldiers to another country when you have more urgency to deal with.
“The soldiers have been deployed before the approval. So, even though you have problem with President of Donald Trump, at least he has been discussing with the US Congress and the Department of War.
“The operation or intervention we have done in Sierra Leone, Liberia, were all under the leadership of ECOWAS. I think for me, it’s a collapse of well-defined foreign policy for Nigeria,” he added.
Also, another group, Global Rights Nigeria, said the Senate’s swift approval of Nigeria’s troops’ deployment by President Tinubu was highly questionable.
Executive Director of the group, Abiodun Bayeiwu, said: “The deployment raises several important questions, especially given Nigeria’s own ongoing struggles with insecurity. The country is currently dealing with persistent banditry, terrorism, farmer–herder violence, and rising criminality across multiple states.
“In such a context, committing troops outside the country, no matter how strategic or symbolic, must be carefully considered.
“While ECOWAS protocols permit collective security actions, Nigeria must ensure that such external commitments do not overstretch our already strained military, dilute domestic security operations, or further expose vulnerable communities at home. Any deployment should be clearly tied to national interest, regional stability, and legal frameworks, and not political window dressing.
