Human rights lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s authorisation of a military intervention in Benin Republic constituted an impeachable violation of the Nigerian Constitution.
Abubakar insisted that no Nigerian President has the power to deploy troops outside the country without the prior approval of the National Assembly.
Abubakar’s position follows the December 7, 2025 coup in Benin Republic, where soldiers of the Beninese Armed Forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri announced the overthrow of President Patrice Talon on national television after attacking his residence in Cotonou.
In the wake of the coup, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff openly admitted that the country’s air and land assets were deployed across Benin Republic’s airspace without the requisite approval of the National Assembly, but solely on the orders of President Tinubu, who chairs ECOWAS.
Tinubu has defended the move, claiming the intervention was consistent with ECOWAS’ Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance aimed at halting unconstitutional takeovers in the region.
But Abubakar sharply disagrees.
According to him, Section 5(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is unequivocal:
“Except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”
He adds that although Section 5(5) empowers the President — after consulting the National Defence Council —.to deploy troops for limited combat, such deployment must relate strictly to the national security of Nigeria, not that of another sovereign state.
Abubakar argued that Benin is not Nigeria and unless Nigeria itself is under imminent threat, the President cannot unilaterally dispatch troops across borders.
“Constitution permits the President to, in consultation with the National Defence Council, deploy members of the armed forces on limited combat, it must be the national security of Nigeria (not Benin) that is under imminent threat or danger.”
The lawyer warned that ECOWAS cannot override Nigeria’s Constitution, noting that international protocols do not supersede domestic legal provisions governing the use of armed forces.
