A group, Media For Morals, has expressed its support for the Nigerian Army, particularly the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, for vowing to ensure that the armed forces remain apolitical and professional in the discharge of its duties.
In a press statement signed by its national coordinator, Dr. Mairo Mudi, the group berated the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, for encouraging “lawlessness” in the armed forces by asking soldiers to disobey orders made by their superiors
“It is really y saddening, just as the Army leadership has observed, that someone who wants to lead Nigeria and be the commander-in-chief of its armed forces is the very person inciting officers and men of the armed forces to disobey lawful orders made by constituted authorities,” Mudi said.
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She added that “all the hullabaloos about President Buhari’s warning for the military and the police to deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers is only indicative of the fact that some politicians, obviously of the opposition stock, were relying on that method to get to power through rigging.”
Mudi added that Buratai’s directives were in order when viewed with a dispassionate mind, and within the context of the law, “as the military, not just the army, cannot turn down a directive made by the president, who, constitutionally, is their commander-in-chief, and more so when that order is aimed at ensuring credible elections that Nigerians have been yearning for.”
“Buhari’s is not a shoot on sight order, similar to the one issued by then President Olusegun Obasanjo on Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), is a call to caution, to scare away mischief makers who want to truncate our democracy through election rigging. What this means is that once individuals or political parties do not plan to rig, they have no reason to bother about the call. The army is a disciplined institution that knows what is right. It has been protecting us for years now, and will not just turn its guns against innocent civilians. The president ought to be celebrated for this patriotic call. It means neither he nor his party plan to rig the election,” she said.
