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The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin in support of efforts to restore peace and stability following last weekend’s attempted coup.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced this on Tuesday during plenary after lawmakers considered the request in the Committee of the Whole in line with section 5, Part 11 of the Constitution.
The Senators unanimously voted in favour of the deployment, giving legislative backing for the regional security intervention.
Akpabio described the decision as a step in the right direction, noting that instability in any neighboring state poses a threat to the entire region.
“An injury to one is an injury to all,” the lawmaker said.
He underscored that it is Nigeria’s responsibility to support its Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) partner.
The Senate’s consent letter will be transmitted to President Tinubu immediately.
Tinubu had written to the Senate, seeking their approval for the deployment of troops to the Benin Republic. He said that Nigeria has a historical responsibility to support Benin under the existing Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) security frameworks.
According to the President, the crisis demands “urgent external intervention” to help restore stability and prevent further breakdown of order.
Benin Republic’s attempted coup occurred on Sunday, when some military personnel announced the removal of President Patrice Talon.
The soldiers who called themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR) took to national television to announce that they had met and concluded that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.
However, the country’s military thwarted the effort and regained control.
“The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” sources close to Talon said. “It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”
In the wake of the attempted coup, ECOWAS said it will deploy a standby force to the area.
“After consultation among members of the Mediation and Security Council at the level of Heads of State and Government, the Chair of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has ordered the deployment of elements of the ECOWAS Standby Force to the Republic of Benin with immediate effect,” the regional bloc said.
“The Regional Force shall be made up of troops from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, and the Republic of Ghana.
“The Force shall support the Government and the Republican Army of Benin to preserve constitutional order and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Benin”.
