JUST IN: Senate swiftly Approved Tinübu troops deployment to Benin Amid post-Coup T£nsion
JUST IN: Senate swiftly Approved Tinübu troops deployment to Benin Amid post-Coup Tension
Details in comments sectionIn a rapid show of regional solidarity, Nigeria’s Senate has unanimously approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy up to 1,000 Nigerian troops to Benin Republic for a peacekeeping mission, just hours after ECOWAS declared a sub-regional state of emergency over escalating coups and instability.
The authorization aligns with Section 5(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the President to deploy armed forces outside Nigeria with legislative consent to protect national interests and regional security.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio hailed the “expeditious approval” as a critical measure to “safeguard peace and stability in our shared sub-region and avert a looming humanitarian crisis.”
Speaking after the plenary session, Akpabio emphasized the deployment’s role in bolstering Benin’s defenses following the December 7 thwarted coup attempt in Cotonou, where mutineers briefly seized state media before loyalist forces, aided by Nigerian intelligence, restored order.
“This is not an invasion but a fraternal hand extended to a neighbor in distress,” Akpabio added, underscoring Nigeria’s leadership in ECOWAS’s Standby Force mobilization.
Lawmakers across party lines praised the move as “a proactive step in the right direction,” with Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele noting it counters the “coup contagion” from the Sahel, where juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have formed the rival Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The resolution mandates a six-month mandate, renewable upon review, with troops focusing on border patrols, joint training, and counter-terrorism operations to prevent spillover from jihadist threats.
Critics, including civil society groups, urged transparency on rules of engagement to avoid escalation. Benin President Patrice Talon expressed gratitude, calling it “a bulwark against democratic backsliding.”
As Nigerian forces prepare for airlift from Abuja, the deployment signals ECOWAS’s resolve amid AES saber-rattling over alleged airspace violations.
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