CEO and Publisher of Ovation International, Dele Momodu has recounted how a last-minute change of travel plans saved him from being caught in the Benin Republic coup crossfire.
He shared this in an Instagram post on Sunday morning.
Recall that NPO had reported that Soldiers in the West African nation of Benin had announced on national TV that they have ousted President Patrice Talon and seized power.
A message from the French embassy in Benin said gunfire had been reported near the residence of the president in the main city of Cotonou.
The soldiers also announced a suspension of the constitution, the closure of all land borders as well as the country’s airspace.
According to their statement, Lieutenant-Colonel Tigri Pascal will be leading a military transition council.
According to Momodu, he and Rotimi Obey, son of veteran musician Ebenezer Obey had planned to travel to Accra by road on Monday morning by 5 a.m.
However, Momodu explained that while checking with his driver the night before, he discovered that the original car papers were not available.
His search across two office locations in Victoria Island and Ikoyi yielded no results.
At 10:38 p.m., he called Obey to cancel the road trip and opt for a flight instead.
He also informed his Beninese associate, Alex Dalmeida, who had travelled to join them for the cross-border journey, at 11:02 p.m. that the plan had been aborted.
Momodu then contacted his travel consultant, who secured flight tickets late that night. It was while at the airport that he received news of the military takeover in Benin.
Momodu said he realised they had avoided the crossfire “by a whisker,” noting that the timing of the cancelled road trip likely spared them from encountering the unrest.
NPO Reports that the French Embassy has urged its citizens to stay indoors for their safety.
This apparent coup in Benin comes just over a week after Umaro Sissoco Embaló was overthrown as president in nearby Guinea-Bissau.