The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd.), has disclosed that Nigeria thwarted an attempted coup in the Republic of Benin within 12 hours following a direct request for assistance from the Beninese leadership.
Musa, a former Chief of Defence Staff, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, where he explained that the intervention was authorised at the highest level and executed swiftly by Nigerian troops.
Responding to a question on whether the President of the Republic of Benin personally contacted President Bola Tinubu, Musa confirmed the direct nature of the appeal.
“Yes, yes, of course. For help, definitely,” he said.
Asked whether it was a direct call, Musa replied, “It was a direct call. There was no way we could have taken an action without the President’s approval. So he called directly to Mr President.
“Mr President called and gave the directive, and then we called the troops, and we moved in quickly. Within 12 hours, we had already moved in and were able to secure the area.”
