Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu says his country’s armed forces helped stabilize neighbouring Benin following a failed coup attempt on Sunday.

Tinubu, in a post on X, said that on his orders, “the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government.”

Benin’s president said on Sunday that the “situation is completely under control” after the government thwarted an attempted coup thanks to loyalist soldiers.

“I would like to assure you that the situation is completely under control and therefore invite you to calmly go about your activities starting this very evening,” President Talon said on state broadcaster Benin TV.

Failed attempt

Earlier on Sunday, soldiers identifying themselves as the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR) took over state television and announced that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic.”

Their declaration was quickly met with a counteroffensive by loyalist forces, including air strikes from neighbouring Nigeria and the deployment of troops from other countries in the region. Beninese military and security sources said about a dozen soldiers, including those behind the coup bid, had been arrested.

West Africa has experienced a wave of coups in recent years, including in Benin’s northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as in Mali, Guinea and, most recently, Guinea-Bissau.

Talon is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by strong economic growth, though his government continues to grapple with insecurity in the country’s north.

Meanwhile, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS said that troops from Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were being deployed to Benin to “support the Government and the Republican Army of Benin to preserve constitutional order.”