The President of Benin Republic Patrice Talon has arrived at the Presidential Villa, Abuja for a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Talon, who arrived at the Villa around 4:43 pm, is visiting Abuja a second time in nine days, having visited on 18 July along with two other colleague-presidents, Mohamed Bazoum of Niger and Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau.
The meeting follows reports of Bazoum being held by disgruntled members of the elite Presidential Guard, who in turn were given an “ultimatum” by the army, according to a source close to the West African country’s leader.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which Tinubu serves as Chairman, has since condemned what it called an “attempted coup” and called on the “plotters” to release Bazoum immediately and without condition.
According to Al Jazeera, Niger’s presidency has said members of the presidential guard tried to move against President Mohamed Bazoum, warning that the army was ready to attack them if they did not back down.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Issues Stern Warning To Niger Republic Over Coup Attempt
The presidency’s official Twitter account said on Wednesday that presidential guards engaged in an “anti-Republican demonstration” and tried “in vain” to obtain the support of the other security forces.
It added that Bazoum and his family were well after news agencies quoted security sources as saying that the guards were holding Bazoum inside the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey.
In a a statement, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, “strongly” condemned what he called a coup attempt “by members of the military acting in total betrayal of their republican duty”.
For his part, Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria and chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said he was already in “close consultation” with other leaders in the region about the situation.
“The ECOWAS leadership will not accept any action that impedes the smooth functioning of legitimate authority in Niger or any part of West Africa,” he said in a statement.
“We will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region.”
