Military Refutes Coup Claim, Threatens Legal Action

The Defence Headquarters has refuted allegations of a coup threat in Nigeria, claiming that the Presidential Guards Brigade has been put on high alert following unusual movements.

Acting director defence information, Brig-Gen Tukur Gusau, issued the rebuttal while reacting to an online publication (not LEADERSHIP) which claimed that the presidential guards brigade had been put on red alert following unusual movements leading to the suspicion of a coup plot in Nigeria.

He said the Defence Headquarters will seek legal redress on the issue which, he said, had the ulterior motive of creating unnecessary tension in the country. 

The report further alleged that the suspicion prompted emergency meeting involving President Bola Tinubu, the Chief of Staff to the President and Commander of the Guards Brigade.

“The Defence Headquarters wishes to categorically state that the allegation is totally false,” he said.

He explained that the Guards Brigade has been statutorily assigned the responsibility of protecting the seat of power (The Presidency) and by extension the Federal Capital Territory and its environs.

 Hence, he said, the Guards Brigade has always been on high alert in order to effectively executive its assigned tasks.

The statement recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa had in various fora reiterated the unalloyed commitment of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to the protection and sustenance of democracy in the country.

“Therefore, the Defence Headquarters strongly condemns this unsubstantiated assertion, which is just a figment of imagination of the publisher, and enjoins members of the public to disregard it,” he said.

Brig.-Gen. Gusau, therefore, called on relevant security agencies to immediately take appropriate action against the medium for “this unpatriotic action”.