Nigeria’s Celebrated Military Mission in Benin Republic

With the celebrated gallantry of the Nigerian Air Force fighter jets and ground troops deployed against coup plotters in the Republic of Benin, many Nigerians have been wondering why such air and ground assets have not moved against the bandits holding many Nigerians hostage within the nation’s territory, Ejiofor Alike reports  

Many Nigerians were shocked when President Bola Tinubu last Sunday confirmed what he described as the swift response of the Nigerian military to a request from the Government of Benin Republic to help protect its 35-year-old democracy after soldiers attempted a coup at dawn.

The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Benin Republic made two separate requests for military assistance to foil last Sunday’s coup in that country.

Following the first request, Tinubu was said to have ordered Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets to enter Benin’s airspace and help dislodge the coup plotters from the National Television station and a military camp where they had regrouped.

A second request was for Nigeria to deploy Air Force assets within Benin’s airspace for surveillance and rapid-intervention operations under Benin-led coordination.

 The Beninese authorities 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.”

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, also confirmed that all requests had been executed.

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

Soldiers led by Colonel Pascal Tigri had earlier on that Sunday announced a coup, seized the National Television station and declared that President Patrice Talon had been removed and democratic institutions suspended.

However, government loyalists, assisted by Nigerian forces, regained control of the broadcaster after several hours and flushed out the coup plotters.

After order was restored, Tinubu commended the Nigerian armed forces for standing “firm as a protector and defender of democracy.”

President Tinubu later sought and obtained approval from the Senate for the deployment of Nigerian troops.

During the session, the senators were said to have examined the security, humanitarian, and diplomatic implications of the deployment.

Key concerns included the potential influx of refugees into Nigeria, the safety of border communities, and the broader consequences for regional peace and security

After an extensive debate, the lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to ratify the president’s action.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio praised Tinubu for taking steps to stabilise the region and upholding constitutional norms by seeking Senate’s consent, even after an “urgent deployment”.

However, many Nigerians were shocked that the NAF and the Nigerian Army could swiftly dislodge the coup plotters in Benin Republic but are unable to save many Nigerians in the den of kidnappers and bandits operating within the Nigerian soil.

Many expressed shock that the military failed to show similar commitment to track the locations of bandits and their victims within the Nigerian soil and deploy the same air and ground assets to dislodge the terrorists and rescue their victims.

Reacting, the Save Nigeria Group USA, in a strongly worded press statement, said the action stood in stark contrast to the Nigerian government’s alleged rejection of US assistance for targeted strikes against extremist groups like Boko Haram and Islamist Fulani militias that are reportedly terrorising Nigerian citizens.

“A president must first remove the log from his own eye before acting as a self-styled regional policeman,” the group declared.

“Nigerian lives must come first. National security should come first. Protect Nigeria before playing the regional hero.”

“The same administration that refuses to bomb known terrorist camps within Nigeria, abandoning Christians, farmers, and villages to slaughter, suddenly finds jets, fuel, and political will to bomb the Benin Republic,” the statement read.

“This exposes a deeply troubling pattern of neglect, complicity, and hypocrisy.”

Similarly, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) in the 2023 general election, Malik Ado-Ibrahim, speaking during an interview on television, said deployment of troops by Nigeria was a contradiction.

“You went to Benin Republic; you didn’t pay attention at home here. That’s the contradiction that we’ve seen in the last 48 or so hours,” he said.

He added that while Nigeria can project force externally, communities at home continue to face kidnappings and terrorist attacks.

Malik added that kidnappers exploit Nigeria as a “soft target.”  

Many other Nigerians believed that the Nigerian military prioritised its intervention in Benin Republic over Nigeria’s internal security because the coup in Benin was a threat to Nigeria’s ruling class and had to be averted while the insecurity affects only ordinary Nigerians.

However, Nigeria’s role in foiling the coup may have also provoked the ire of the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic, which seized NAF C-130 aircraft and detained 11 Nigerian military officers in Burkina Faso after the aircraft made an emergency landing in the country.

A successful coup in the Benin Republic would have brought the number of countries under military regime in West Africa to four.

The Air Force C-130 aircraft entered Burkina Faso’s airspace last Monday without authorisation, according to the country’s Territorial Administration Minister, Emile Zerbo.

In a joint statement, the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger said their prompt investigation confirmed the “violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member states.”

But NAF said a technical problem forced the plane, which was en route to Portugal, to land in accordance with safety procedures.

The aircraft landed in Bobo-Dioulasso, in the west of Burkina Faso and its second-largest city. The NAF said it was the site of the nearest airfield when the plane had to make an emergency stop.

But the Nigerian account of the incident contradicts the position of the trio of Sahel countries, formally known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which said that the aircraft entered Burkinabè airspace without prior authorisation and was forced to land.

It called the landing an “unfriendly act” and said the countries’ respective air forces had been put on maximum alert and authorised to “neutralise any aircraft” found to violate the confederation’s airspace.

On its part, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said President Tinubu’s “prompt intervention” in the attempted coup prevented a major security threat to Nigeria.

NGF Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said a successful takeover in Benin would have created opportunities for militants and other non-state actors operating across the Sahel to further destabilise the country.

“With the Sahel already in severe security distress, a successful coup in Benin would have had devastating effects on our own country due to the long and porous borders we share,” the statement added.

As the debate over Nigeria’s military mission in Benin Republic rages, the expectation of many Nigerians is that the same air and land assets should be mobilised to dislodge bandits from ungoverned territories within the Nigerian soil and rescue their hostages.