08.12.2025 06:20
Following the suppressed coup attempt in Benin, Nigeria conducted airstrikes on Cotonou and deployed troops on the ground to protect constitutional order. The operation, carried out at the request of Benin, aimed to neutralize the coup plotters. Meanwhile, ECOWAS, which consists of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Ghana, also announced that it would send troops to Benin.
Following the thwarted coup attempt in Benin, Nigeria announced that it has struck targets in Cotonou.
AIR STRIKE ON COTONOU
In a statement from the Nigerian Presidency, it was reported that an airstrike was carried out on the country's economic capital, Cotonou, at the request of neighboring Benin to maintain constitutional order and prevent the coup attempt, and that troops were deployed on the ground.
The statement noted that Nigerian Air Force fighter jets supported the removal of coup soldiers from a military camp where they were stationed with state television. It was mentioned that Benin requested the deployment of Nigerian Air Force elements in its airspace for surveillance and rapid intervention operations to be conducted under its leadership.
ECOWAS WILL ALSO SEND TROOPS TO BENIN
The statement emphasized that all of Benin's requests were met and that Nigerian ground forces are still present in Benin. Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also announced that it would send troops to Benin. In a statement from ECOWAS, it was noted that a Reserve Force consisting of soldiers from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Ghana would be deployed in Benin to support the government and maintain constitutional order.
Established to intervene in crises in West Africa, the ECOWAS Reserve Force, based in Nigeria's capital Abuja, is made up of soldiers sent by member countries during times of crisis.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In the early hours of yesterday morning in Benin, a group of soldiers identifying themselves as the "Military Committee for Re-establishment" announced that they had taken control of the government. Interior Minister Alassane Seidou also stated on his social media account that the attempt had failed. Benin's President Patrice Talon announced in the evening via state television that the coup attempt had been thwarted and that those responsible for the incident would be punished.