The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed claims of any suspicious coup plot, noting that the president has also not placed the nation’s Guards Brigade on high alert.
The rebuttal, disclosed on a Monday and shared via the DHQ’s X Account handle, was signed by its Acting Director Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau.
Over the weekend, a publication revealed that President Bola Tinubu placed the Guards Brigade on high alert following unusual movements, leading to suspicion of a coup plot in Nigeria.
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The publication also asserted amongst other things that the suspicion prompted an emergency meeting involving the president, the Chief of Staff to the President and Commander of the Guards Brigade.
But the DHQ in its statement described the report as false.
The statement said, “For the avoidance of doubt, 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, it is to be noted that the Guards Brigade has always been on high alert in order to effectively execute its assigned tasks.”
“It will be 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 Nigeria.
“Therefore, the Defence Headquarters strongly condemn this unsubstantiated assertion which is just a figment of imagination of the publisher and enjoins members of the public to disregard it.
“Furthermore, the Defence Headquarters calls on relevant security agencies to immediately take appropriate action against the Sahara Reporters for this unpatriotic action.
“Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters will seek legal redress on the issue which has the ulterior motive of creating unnecessary tension in the country.”