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.”

The defence minister said the attempted coup occurred on a Sunday morning and was neutralised before the end of the day.

“Just a few weeks ago, we had to step in to stop the coup in the Benin Republic. That was timely. It happened on a Sunday morning. I was going to church when the issue came up.

“We stood there, fought it, and by evening, we had secured the whole place. Our troops are still there. We were just about pulling them out,” he said.

According to Musa, the rapid response highlighted Nigeria’s growing military capacity and its commitment to regional stability.

“So, to tell you the kind of capacities we have and what we can do, we must build our own capacity so that we can secure our region, secure our country, and Africa in general,” he added.

The attempted overthrow of the Beninese government, which occurred on December 7, 2025, was short-lived and was later confirmed by Beninese authorities to have been suppressed.

The incident was part of growing security concerns in parts of West Africa, where several countries have experienced military takeovers in recent years.

The swift intervention is also a demonstration of Nigeria’s leadership role within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its renewed resolve to defend constitutional order in the sub-region.