A day after soldiers of the Nigerian Army allegedly raided the residences of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s loyalist and former Governor of Bayelsa State, in Abuja and Bayelsa, military authorities have refused to comment on the matter.
A trending report on the soldiers’ raid of the former petroleum minister’s residences linked the military’s action to the rumoured coup attempt.
The military has since denied any coup plot, insisting that the sixteen detained personnel are still under investigation and have not yet been linked to any coup attempt, as speculated in some sections of the media.
In a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, the military stated that a routine internal exercise had led to the arrest of sixteen officers over issues of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations.
He added that investigations revealed the officers’ grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation, caused by repeated failures in promotion examinations, among other factors.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has declined to comment on the alleged raids on ex-governor’s homes in Bayelsa and Abuja.
Calls and messages to the Spokesperson of the Guards Brigade and the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, were not responded to as at the time of filing this report.
Earlier, a trending report linked the raid to a coup plot currently under investigation by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Quoting security sources, the report alleged that the operation was carried out by a special military team in the early hours of Tuesday at the former governor’s residence in Maitama, Abuja.
It added that intelligence reports also linked the former governor to a series of secret meetings allegedly held with some of the detained military officers accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
The operation was said to have extended to his Bayelsa home, where his brother was arrested.
Doubting the reasons provided by the military authorities for the arrest of the sixteen personnel, a source familiar with the workings of the military was quoted in the report as saying: “If the military were truly conducting a disciplinary operation, over 10,000 cases could emerge. Why only sixteen officers, and why hand them over to the DIA? This smells of politics. There’s clearly more going on behind the scenes.”
Linus Aleke
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