THE Nigerian Army has said that it would investigate the allegation that there was a plot by the service to overthrow the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Thursday that the Army would investigate the claim in order to unravel the motive behind the claim.
Usman said that the ‘baseless and most unfortunate allegation’ only existed in the minds of those who originated it.
Usman who distanced the Army from the claim described the claim as a distraction to the efforts of the service to fight insurgency and other criminal elements in the society.
He said that the Nigerian Army was a professional organization which was a product of democratic governance and would not be associated with the grave issue of truncating democratic governance.
He described the allegation as a declaration of war against the current administration by the peddlers of the claim.
Usman stressed that the Army was the greatest beneficiary of democratic governance and would not consider such an abominable act.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to another campaign of calumny and distraction by faceless criminal gang of economic saboteurs that hide under the aegis of Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force alleging that some officers of the Nigerian Army approached them for support to overthrow our duly elected present democratic government.
“This is a baseless and most unfortunate allegation that existed in the warped minds of the originators of such weighty allegation. The Nigerian Army wish to state that this is not true and hereby distanced itself from this weighty allegation.
“We also see this speculation as a dangerous distraction to our effort in fighting insurgency and other criminal elements in the country.
“The Nigerian Army would like to send a strong and an unequivocal warning to those speculating a coup by the Nigerian Army against the Government to desist forthwith. We would like state in clear terms that that we are a product of democracy and a focused professional institution and would have nothing to do with such abomination and heinous crime.
“We wish to state further that the NA is the greatest beneficiary of democracy and therefore cannot ever contemplate any anti-democratic misadventure, certainly, not under the command of the present Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai. Rather, we see this type of dangerous speculation as a declaration of war to destabilise the present government by these unscrupulous elements.
“The Nigerian Army is investigating those behind the dangerous insinuation in order to unravel the real motive behind it,” The statement read.
Usman reiterated the loyalty of the service to the President and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and obedience to civil authority.
He vowed that the service would ensure that those behind the dangerous rumour were fished out and brought to justice.
“We wish to further assure Nigerians and indeed all peace loving people that the Nigerian Army and indeed its personnel will never be involved in such terrible misadventure.
“We wish to further add that no matter how long it takes, we would track and find out those behind these insinuations and bring them to justice.”
