0:00
President Bola Ahmed Tonubu of Nigeria
0:02
has expressed happiness that Nigeria
0:04
troops both air and land soldiers have
0:07
successfully foiled the coup attempt in
0:09
Benin Republic on Sunday saying latest
0:12
report from the Benin Republic indicated
0:15
that Colonel Pascal Tyigree the leader
0:17
of the mutineers who seized the
0:19
country's national television on Sunday
0:21
is on the run and some other members of
0:23
the group have been arrested as the
0:25
defense and security forces in the
0:27
country thwarted the attempted push. And
0:30
according to the Nigeria president,
0:32
Nigeria government acted on two separate
0:35
requests from the government of Benin
0:37
Republic saying, "President Tonubu first
0:40
ordered Nigerian air force fighter jets
0:42
to enter the country and take over the
0:44
airspace to help dislodge the coup
0:46
plotters from the national TV and the
0:48
military camp where they had regrouped
0:51
and secondly ordered ground troops into
0:53
the Benin Republic territory which the
0:55
Nigeria military troops have been
0:57
confirmed to have taken positions. in
0:59
both air and land space in the Benin
1:02
Republic with some local residents
1:03
saying a few minutes ago that the gun
1:05
battle is still ongoing. Beo Onuga, the
1:09
spokesperson to the Nigeria president in
1:12
a number of statements on Sunday said
1:14
coup in Benin fails. Mutineers in
1:17
military uniform who attempted to
1:20
overthrow President Patrice Talon's
1:22
democratic government on Sunday in the
1:24
Republic of Benin have failed. The
1:27
mutineers seized the national TV after
1:29
failing to enter President Talon's
1:31
residence. The latest report from Cotenu
1:34
said the National Guard has taken
1:36
control of the situation and surrounded
1:38
the television station. According to 24
1:42
hours in Benin, discussions are underway
1:44
with the mutineers now hold up inside
1:47
the station. Benin's interior minister
1:50
Alassen Sidu says the country's armed
1:53
forces have fought an attempted coup.
1:55
His statement came after soldiers
1:57
appeared on state television and
1:59
announced the removal of President
2:01
Patrice Talon, the closure of borders
2:03
and suspension of political parties.
2:06
President Bola Ahmed Tonubu has
2:08
commended the gallantry of Nigeria's
2:10
military on Sunday for responding
2:12
swiftly to the request by the government
2:14
of Benin Republic to save its
2:16
35-year-old democracy from coup plotters
2:19
who struck at dawn today. Acting on two
2:22
separate requests from the government of
2:24
Benin, President Tonubu first ordered
2:26
Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to enter
2:29
the country and take over the airspace
2:31
to help dislodge the coup plotters from
2:33
the national TV and a military camp
2:35
where they had regrouped. The Republic
2:38
of Benin through its Ministry of Foreign
2:40
Affairs in a note verbal requested
2:43
immediate Nigerian air support in view
2:46
of the urgency and seriousness of the
2:48
situation and to safeguard the
2:49
constitutional order, protect national
2:52
institutions and ensure the security of
2:54
the population. In the second request,
2:57
the authorities in Benimin requested the
2:59
deployment of Nigerian air force assets
3:02
within Benino's airspace for
3:04
surveillance and rapid intervention
3:05
operations under Benin coordination. The
3:09
Benin government also requested Nigerian
3:12
ground forces strictly for missions
3:14
approved by the Benanese Command
3:16
Authority in support of the protection
3:17
of constitutional institutions and the
3:20
containment of armed groups. Nigeria's
3:23
chief of defense staff general olied
3:27
said all the requests have been
3:28
fulfilled with Nigerian ground forces
3:31
now in Benin. Ours is to comply with the
3:34
order of the commander and chief of our
3:36
armed forces, President Tonubu. He said
3:40
constitutional order was upended in the
3:42
Republic of Benin, Nigeria's neighbor
3:45
when some soldiers led by Colonel Pascal
3:47
Tigri announced a coup on Sunday
3:49
morning. The puchists seized the
3:52
national TV and claimed they had toppled
3:54
President Patrice Talon and suspended
3:57
all democratic institutions. It took
4:00
some hours before the government's loyal
4:02
forces assisted by Nigeria took control
4:05
and flushed out the coup plotters from
4:07
the national TV. In his remarks after
4:10
the restoration of the democratic and
4:12
constitutional order, President Tonubu
4:14
saluted the Nigerian armed forces for
4:17
standing firm as a protector and
4:19
defender of democracy. Today, the
4:22
Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as
4:24
a defender and protector of
4:26
constitutional order in the Republic of
4:28
Benin on the invitation of the
4:29
government. Our armed forces acted
4:32
within the ambit of the echoaz protocol
4:34
on democracy and good governance. They
4:37
have helped stabilize a neighboring
4:39
country and have made us proud of their
4:41
commitment to sustaining our democratic
4:43
values and ideals since 1999.
4:47
Nigeria stands firmly with the
4:49
government and people of the Republic of
4:51
Benin. The latest report from the Benin
4:54
Republic said Colonel Pascal Tigri, the
4:56
leader of the mutineers who seized the
4:58
country's national TV on Sunday, is on
5:01
the run. However, some other members of
5:04
the group have been arrested as the
5:06
defense and security forces in the
5:08
country thwarted the attempted push.
5:11
Benin's interior minister Alasen Sidu
5:14
has appeared on national TV to announce
5:16
that the coup has been thwarted. Early
5:19
on Sunday morning, the 7th of December
5:21
2025, a small group of soldiers launched
5:25
a mutiny aimed at destabilizing the
5:27
state and its institutions.
5:29
Faced with this situation, the Benanese
5:31
armed forces and their leadership, true
5:34
to their oath, remained committed to the
5:36
republic. Their response allowed them to
5:38
retain control of the situation and foil
5:41
the attempt. The government therefore
5:43
urges the population to go about their
5:46
activities as normal. Ami Saware, the
5:49
founder of Sahare Reporters news media
5:51
and a human rights activist in a
5:54
statement on Sunday said, "The so-called
5:57
coups in Guinea Basau and the latest
5:59
episode in the Benin Republic share
6:01
disturbing similarities. In Guinea
6:03
Basau, the phony coup unfolded after a
6:06
criminal former president effectively
6:08
invited the military to intervene to
6:10
avoid announcing elections and
6:11
relinquishing power to an opposition
6:13
figure with a popular mandate. It was
6:16
not a seizure of power to restore order,
6:18
but a manipulation of force to escape
6:21
democratic progress. The situation in
6:24
Benin raises equally troubling
6:26
questions. There are strong indications
6:28
that President Patrice Talon, a deeply
6:30
shady figure and a close ally of Asawaju
6:34
Ahmed Tanubu, may have been aware of the
6:36
couplot, allowed it to unfold and then
6:39
used it as a political diversion to
6:41
shift public attention away from his
6:45
In this sense, instability becomes a
6:47
calculated tool of political survival
6:50
rather than an unforeseen threat to
6:51
democracy. Of course, I am opposed to
6:55
military rule in all its forms. I am
6:58
allergic to it. Whether invited, staged,
7:01
or exploited, coups are never a solution
7:04
to political failure. The answer to bad
7:06
civilian leadership is not guns,
7:09
military jack boots, and camouflage, but
7:11
accountability, popular struggle, and
7:14
genuine democracy. It would be recalled
7:17
that a group of soldiers appeared on
7:18
Benin's national television on Sunday
7:21
morning claiming to have seized power.
7:23
The group, which called itself the
7:25
Military Committee for Refoundation,
7:28
announced the removal of President
7:29
Patrice Talon and all state
7:32
Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri was
7:35
thereafter appointed president of the
7:37
military committee. According to the
7:39
soldier, the signal of the national
7:41
television was cut later in the morning.
7:44
The French embassy said on X that
7:46
gunfire was reported at Camp GZO near
7:49
the president's official residence and
7:51
urged French citizens to remain indoors.
7:54
Shortly after the soldiers declaration,
7:56
a source close to Talon told AFP the
8:00
president was safe and the regular army
8:02
was regaining control. Benin's foreign
8:05
minister Alushe Ajadi Bkari also told
8:08
Reuters the situation is under control.
8:11
While government spokesperson Wilfried
8:13
Hungji told app, "Everything is fine."
8:16
According to Al Jazzer News Network,
8:22
bringing you the news in a more digital
