The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Saturday, dismissed claims that some military officers met with a presidential candidate with the aim of disrupting the general elections and setting the country on fire.
A former Minister of Aviation and chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC), Femi Fani-Kayode, had alleged that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, secretly met with some serving Military Generals in Abuja, on Thursday.
“There are reports that @atiku had a secret meeting with serving Military Generals in Abuja, on Thursday. If true, it is troubling & has implications. What was the purpose? Why would a presidential candidate be having secret meetings with soldiers 14 days before the election?
“Is this meeting part of the wider agenda to disrupt the elections, destabilise the country, set us on fire, incite chaos and violence, provoke a coup d’etat and establish a new and unconstitutional order in our beloved country under the auspices of an ING?
“Knowing that he has no chance of winning the election, is Atiku now working with some members of the cabal, a handful of treacherous and unpatriotic technocrats at CBN and in the private sector and rogue elements in the ‘deep state’ to effect this demonic hidden agenda?”, Fani-Kayode had said in a series of tweets.
Reacting, the DHQ, in a statement issued by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, described the claim as wicked, and malicious propaganda, adding that those who engage in fabricating and spreading unfounded misinformation about the military will henceforth be invited by the appropriate law enforcement agencies to substantiate their claims.
The statement read: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria notes with dismay the story being peddled around by some unscrupulous elements alleging that some military officers met with a presidential candidate with the aim of disrupting the general elections and setting the country on fire.
“The wicked and very malicious propaganda indicated that a so-called Thursday meeting is plotting a Coup d’etat to establish unconstitutional order.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria is disheartened that even politically exposed persons can denigrate themselves into joining agents of destabilisation and violence in making false claims just to heighten tension in the polity.
“It needs to be stated that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is a professional military that is loyal to the constitution of the Federal Republic and will never be part of any evil plot against our democracy.
“Besides, the Military remains apolitical and neutral in the current political process and will not engage in the alleged shenanigans. The Armed Forces of Nigeria will never be part of any ignoble plot to truncate our hard-earned democracy.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria hereby warn that those who engage in fabricating and spreading unfounded misinformation will be invited by the appropriate law enforcement agencies to substantiate their claims.
“The general public is advised to disregard such information and go about their normal activities.”
