The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has warned that anyone planning a coup in Nigeria is “wasting their time,” insisting that Nigerians would resist any attempt to overthrow democratic rule.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Musa said democracy remained far better than military rule and stressed that the Armed Forces were committed to protecting the country’s democratic system.
The minister, who spoke about a past coup investigation in which he was involved, said he and other senior officers were among those who uncovered and reported the coup plot, adding that he also chaired the investigative committee that handled the matter.
Musa described those involved in the alleged coup plot as “confused individuals” who misled junior officers into participating in the act.
The defence minister also stated that members of the Armed Forces had been well catered for, noting that there had been no issues with salaries while efforts were ongoing to improve allowances and provide more equipment for troops fighting insecurity.
Musa maintained that any attempt to stage a coup would fail, saying even civilians would resist such actions.
He said: “So I was let go, and five weeks later I’m back to show you that, yes, it wasn’t that because I was involved in anything, and far from it. We were the ones who actually identified the coup. We were the ones who reported it. I was one who convened the committee that did the investigation. We did all this together.
“What we are trying to do now is to show the junior ones that a coup doesn’t pay anything, democracy is far, far better than any military regime, and so there’s an opportunity.
“I just looked at the people that were involved in that, I shook my head because they are just a bunch of confused individuals that exposed very junior officers that didn’t know their left from right, and that put them into this mess. It’s quite unfortunate.
“We always feel bad when we see our colleagues derailing, but the good thing is that the system has a way of going about it.
“The investigation was very thorough. The prosecution is now ongoing and the court-martial will go as planned.
“We’re giving them all the benefits to defend themselves. But the facts on the ground are very, very clear, and I can tell you that we’re following all the processes. Nothing is hidden.
“It’s quite unfortunate what they did. They had no reason to do that. The country was going very well. The armed forces have been taken care of quite very well. We’ve never had issues with our salaries. Efforts have been made to even increase our salaries and our allowances. Our troops are doing quite very well. We’re getting more equipment to fight.
“And make sure this, anybody who is thinking of planning a coup, I think he’s just wasting their time. Even the civilians in Nigeria will have taken them down. So, I think it was just foolhardy for them to have tried what they wanted to do.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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