Coup de tat: Army not interested in truncating Nigeria’s democracy – Lagbaja
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has declared that the Nigerian Army has no plans to interfere in or truncate democracy in Nigeria.
Lagbaja stated that the Army is committed to ensuring the rule of law and defend the nation’s choice of government which is democracy.
He spoke at a seminar on career planning and management organised by the Army headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
While charging officers of the Nigerian Army to remain above board in the discharge of their professional duties, the COAS said Nigerians choose democracy as the form of governance hence the Army will democracy in accordance with the constitution.
Addressing the officers (participants), he said, “Permit me to seize this opportunity to reiterate that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, particularly the Nigerian Army has come to terms with the country’s choice of democracy as the preferred system of governance”.
“We are therefore agents of democracy and have no desire to truncate it. “The Nigerian Army will continue to defend our constitution and not suspend it for whatever reason.
“It is the duty of our elected leaders to lead while the military does its job as enshrined in our constitution.
“Nigerian Army personnel must therefore remain professional and be above board as they discharge their constitutional duties.”
The declaration by the COAS comes against the backdrop of alleged insinuation by certain unnamed persons and groups said to be sponsoring publications expressing frustrations with democratic governance.
It would be recalled that in the West African sub region in particular and Central Africa, several countries have experienced military intervention and taken over their country’s leadership in recent years.
They include Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic, all ECOWAS members while Chad and Sudan in Central Africa have also 
experienced military coups.
Vanguard
