Just in: Tinubu to deploy Nigerian troops to Benin Republic

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Nigerian Senate to approve the deployment of troops to the Benin Republic.

The request was revealed on Tuesday when Senate President Godswill Akpabio read a letter from Tinubu during plenary.

According to the letter, the deployment is for a peace mission to support the Benin government following a recent attempted coup. Tinubu said President Patrice Talon of Benin requested Nigeria’s assistance to help stabilize the situation.

Tinubu wrote that “the government of the Republic of Benin is currently faced with an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power and disruption of democratic institutions” and that the situation “requires urgent external intervention.”

He added that Nigeria’s action is in line with the close ties between the two countries and the principles of collective security under ECOWAS. He also cited Section 5, Subsection 5 of Nigeria’s Constitution, which allows such a deployment after consulting the National Defence Council.

The Senate has referred the request to the committee of the whole for immediate review.

Nigeria had previously conducted air support to respond to the unconstitutional events in B