President Bola Tinubu has sent a letter to the Nigerian Senate requesting approval to deploy troops to the Benin Republic for a peacekeeping mission.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter on the floor of the red chamber on Tuesday.

In the letter, Mr Tinubu explained that the proposed deployment is to provide support to the French-speaking neighbouring country following a request from President Patrice Talon after the recent failed coup.

The deployment is in line with the protocol of the West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commission. It is also in tandem with Section 30, subsection 5 of the Nigerian Constitution (1999) as amended.

Nigeria had earlier provided air intervention following the coup in Benin. Some of the coup plotters were arrested, while others are still on the run.

There have been several coups in West Africa in recent years. Democratically elected presidents have been ousted in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Niger.

The recent incident in the Benin Republic occurred over a week after a controversial coup in Guinea-Bissau, which ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló from office. However, there were reports that Mr Embalo had orchestrated the coup to prevent the opposition from taking over power in the country.