President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the gallantry of Nigeria’s military on Sunday for responding swiftly to the request by the Government of Benin Republic to save its 35-year-old democracy from coup plotters who struck at dawn today.

Acting on two separate requests from the Government of Benin, President Tinubu first ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to enter the country and take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the National TV and a military camp where they had regrouped.

The Republic of Benin, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a Note Verbal, requested immediate Nigerian air support “in view of the urgency and seriousness of the situation and to safeguard the constitutional order, protect national institutions and ensure the security of the population.”

In the second request, the authorities in Benin requested the deployment of Nigerian Air Force assets within Beninoise airspace for surveillance and rapid intervention operations under Benin-led coordination.

The Benin government also requested Nigerian ground forces, “strictly for missions approved by the Beninese Command authority in support of the protection of constitutional institutions and the containment of armed Groups.”

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, said all the requests have been fulfilled, with Nigerian ground forces now in Benin.

“Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu,” he said.

Constitutional order was upended in the Republic of Benin, Nigeria’s neighbour, when some soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri announced a coup on Sunday morning. The putschists seized the National TV and claimed they had toppled President Patrice Talon and suspended all democratic institutions.

It took some hours before the government’s loyal forces, assisted by Nigeria, took control and flushed out the coup plotters from the National TV.

In his remarks after the restoration of the democratic and constitutional order,  President Tinubu saluted the Nigerian armed forces for standing firm as a protector and defender of democracy.

“Today, 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. Our armed forces acted within the ambit of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country and have made us proud of their commitment to sustaining our democratic values and ideals since 1999. Nigeria stands firmly with the government and people of the Republic of Benin.”

The Federal Government is said to have secured the release of 100 schoolchildren abducted from St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State.
The development comes two weeks after bandits attacked the school, abducting 315 people, comprising 303 students and 12 teachers.
It was gathered that with the release of 100 pupils, 153 pupils and 12 teachers are still held captive.
Although details of the release are still sketchy as of the time of filing this report, The Guardian could not independently confirm if ransom was paid or if they were released unconditionally.
However, sources confirmed that the rescued pupils are currently receiving medical evaluation and will be reunited with their families after debriefing.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Spokesperson, Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, as of 9:03 pm on Sunday, proved abortive, as she said she was in a meeting and would call back later.
Recall that the Christian Association of Nigeria announced that 50 of the kidnapped school pupils escaped some hours after their kidnapping and were “reunited with their parents.”
A BBC Pidgin team, however, reported that the 50 children were part of those who fled during the initial attack and returned independently, rather than escaping from captivity.

Parents who spoke to the BBC said young children were among those taken. One woman said two of her sister’s children, aged six and 13, were missing. She added that local residents informed soldiers that “the children were close by,” following reports that a vehicle used by the attackers broke down.
The attack in Niger State occurred just days after gunmen abducted 25 students from a girls’ secondary school in Kebbi and kidnapped worshippers from a church in Kwara. It also followed the killing of senior army officer General Sani Uba by suspected ISWAP fighters.

Senator Mudashiru Husain felicitates Prince Dotun Babayemi on his birthday, lauding his leadership and contributions to APC’s progressive growth in Osun State

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