The Senate of Nigeria on 9th December approved the action of President Bola Tinubu in deploying troops to the Benin Republic upon the request of the government of Benin to assist in suppressing an attempted coup on Sunday.
Officially, President Tinubu now has full constitutional authority to deploy Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin, following the approval granted today (Tuesday) by the Nigerian Senate.
With this mandate, President Tinubu can deploy the Navy, Air Force, Army, and even… pic.twitter.com/o3IlHbyZc4
— Ishaq Samaila (@ishaqsamaila5) December 9, 2025
In a letter to legislators, Tinubu confirmed that the governments of Benin had requested Greece for an extraordinary and urgent supply of air assistance by the Nigerian military forces following complaints of an alleged attempted unconstitutional capture of rule and interference with democratic establishments.
According to the law of Nigeria, the president has to seek the permission of the Senate to use troops in a foreign state.
The government of Benin announced on Monday that airstrikes by Nigerian fighter jets had been conducted to quash a coup attempt where rebelling soldiers had attempted to take over the power of President Patrice Talon.
Tinubu emphasized the Nigerian dedication to regional security and its special relationship of brotherhood and friendship with Benin and the tenets of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tinubu had begged the legislators to ensure that they act now in order to maintain the stability of Benin, and this country shares a more than 700 km long border with Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa.
In the meantime, the ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray reported that the bloc was experiencing various issues, among which are coups and jihadist violence.
Touray said at a ministerial meeting of the ECOWAS mediation and security council in Abuja,
“We can safely say that our community is in a state of emergency.”
ECOWAS, which criticized the power grabbing attempt in Benin, has instructed the stationing of its standby force in the nation.
