Military vows to pursue coup agitators

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, said on Tuesday that the military and security agencies would pursue those behind the coup calls in the country.

Musa stated this at a joint press conference of heads of security agencies and service chiefs at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

He said the military was aware that the protesters demanding an unconstitutional change of government were being sponsored, adding that security agencies were tracking them to bring them to justice.

The CDS said: “I want to commend Nigerians for their understanding, for their commitment to upholding law and order.

“We have indeed faced various problems in the last few days, but you can see that the people have seen a reason for us to stop the destruction, stop the looting, and stop giving others the opportunity to subvert our country and destroy it.

“They also see a reason to join hands with the security forces to make Nigeria better.

“We want to assure them that we on this side are fully committed to Nigeria, we love this country, we know that we are equipped and therefore we are obligated to protect this country.

“We only go after those who go against the state, not those who are innocent.

“Therefore, I want to make this very clear and we will continue to work together as a team to support Mr. President in achieving his mandate to bring peace and tranquility to our beloved country, Nigeria.”

Musa appealed for cooperation with other agencies to ensure that security forces are successful in carrying out their duties.

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He also called for dialogue to achieve national unity and cohesion as one big country.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, said the army’s primary operational commitment was to deploy resources to combat the protests that had turned violent to ensure sustainable peace in the country.

He said the troops under his command were more concerned with peace and security, adding that attention was not diverted from their core operational commitments in fighting terrorism and banditry.

“I have checked the patrols carried out by the troops, the ambushes carried out every day, the number of rebels who have been eradicated, paralyzed, and so on, there has been no decrease at all.

“We also continue to expand the boundaries of peace and security in Borno State.

“Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are being repatriated to Kukawa and several other places as I have informed you, which is an indicator of the return of peace and stability.

“So the troops are not relaxing their operational commitment on the ground as per our contingency plan if the situation worsens.

“I also want to assure you that our forward-looking projections show that the situation will not worsen, but we need the cooperation of every stakeholder in Nigeria to achieve that,” the military chief said.

Military vows to go after coup agitators first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.