The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday granted accelerated approval for President Bola Tinubu to deploy troops to the Republic of Benin, giving full legislative cover to the dramatic military operation that helped foil last Sunday’s attempted coup in Cotonou.
The decision followed an urgent letter from the President, read on the floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in which Tinubu formally sought Senate consent under Section 5(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Tinubu told lawmakers he had already consulted the National Defence Council and acted on an SOS from Benin’s President Patrice Talon, who requested “exceptional and immediate air support” after mutinous soldiers briefly seized the national television station and announced the overthrow of his government.
Describing the situation as “an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power,” the President warned that the crisis threatened democratic institutions across the sub-region and required urgent external intervention under existing ECOWAS security protocols.
Moving swiftly, Akpabio referred the request to the Committee of the Whole. After less than ten minutes of debate, senators voted unanimously in favour, with no objections recorded.
“An injury to one is an injury to all,” Akpabio declared, stressing that instability in any neighbouring country directly endangers Nigeria and the entire West African bloc.
The Senate President directed that the formal letter of approval be transmitted to the Presidency immediately.
Recall that on Sunday, 7 December 2025, Nigerian fighter jets and ground forces were deployed on Tinubu’s direct orders, joining loyal Beninese troops and ECOWAS contingents to crush the coup plot led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri’s “Military Committee for Refoundation” within hours.
With Tuesday’s Senate endorsement, Nigeria’s intervention, already hailed across the region, now carries full constitutional backing as a formal peacekeeping mission.
The upper chamber’s swift action underscores the growing alarm over successive coups in West Africa and Nigeria’s determination, under President Tinubu’s ECOWAS chairmanship, to draw a firm red line against unconstitutional changes of government.
