Foreign Affairs

Benin Republic is the latest African country to experience a coup. Here is a look at other military takeovers. Benin has joined a growing list of African countries where military officers have seized power since 2020. In a familiar scene across West Africa, a group of soldiers appeared on Benin ’s state TV on Sunday announcing the removal of President …

Burkina Faso has released 11 Nigerian military officers detained after their Air Force transport aircraft made what the authorities described as an unauthorised landing in the country, officials confirmed on Tuesday. Business Insider reports that the officers were allowed to return home after Burkinabè authorities completed preliminary checks, conducted amid suspicions of their involvement in the Benin coup rescue. The …

The government of Burkina Faso says an aircraft carrying 11 Nigerian soldiers had violated its airspace. In a statement signed by Assimi Goita, the junta leader, the Burkinabe government said an aircraft belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) was forced to land on Monday in Bobo Dioulasso, following an “emergency situation in flight” while it was operating in the …

Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr. Sam Amadi, has said that the recent fact-finding mission conducted in Nigeria by 4 United States congressional delegation indicates a lack of confidence in the Nigerian government’s official accounts of insecurity and religious freedom issues. Speaking on Arise News, Amadi said the visit, which includes engagements with victims, religious …

A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has spoken about his recent visit to Nigeria as part of a U.S. Congressional delegation on a fact-finding mission to the country. In a statement posted on X on Monday, Moore said the discussions centred on terrorism in the North-East and the persistent killings in the Middle Belt, describing …

Benin’s president said on Sunday that the “situation is completely under control” in his country after the government thwarted an attempted coup thanks to loyalist soldiers. A group of soldiers announced earlier in the day on state television that they had ousted President Patrice Talon. That sparked a swift response from loyal army forces, air strikes from neighbouring Nigeria and …

Authorities in Benin have, however, arrested several other members of the group after defence and security forces successfully thwarted the attempted coup. Colonel Pascal Tigri, identified as the leader of the mutineers who briefly seized Benin Republic’s national television station on Sunday, is currently on the run, according to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Nigeria’s President …

The Nigerian military has deployed fighter aircraft to the Benin Republic following Sunday’s military coup that toppled President Patrice Talon, reliable security sources have confirmed. The aircraft, which took off from Lagos earlier on Sunday, were sighted operating within Beninese airspace as Nigeria intensifies surveillance and monitoring of the rapidly evolving political and security situation in the neighbouring country. Sources …

A group of soldiers on Sunday appeared on Benin’s state television announcing the dissolution of the government in what seemed to be a coup in the West African country. The soldiers declared the removal of President Patrice Talon, who has led the country since 2016, along with the suspension of all state institutions. Identifying themselves as members of the “Military …

United States lawmaker representing Florida’s 6th congressional district, Randy Fine, has joined a growing list of members of Congress supporting a resolution calling for stronger U.S. action in response to worsening religious-related violence in Nigeria. In a statement shared on X handle on Wednesday, the congressman expressed alarm over continued attacks by extremist groups in parts of Nigeria, particularly in …