The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has debunked an online report (not Sunday Telegraph) that the cancellation of the 65th Independence Anniversary parade was necessitated by a purported plot to oust President Bola Tinubu through a coup d’etat. Specifically, the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) explained that the decision to put-off the parade, was to enable President Bola Tinubu to attend a “strategic bilateral meeting outside the country”.
Sunday Telegraph recalls that the DHQ had, on 4 October, announced that 16 senior officers were being Court Martial led “over issues of indiscipline and breach of service regulations”.
It further disclosed that “investigations have revealed that their grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation caused by repeated failure in promotion examinations, among other issues”. In a statement signed yesterday by the Acting Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Tukur Gusau, the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) said its aforementioned release did not, in any way, suggest an attempted military coup.
Consequently, the DHQ enjoined the general public to disregard any report to the contrary, describing same as false. This was as it pledged the AFN’s loyalty to the Constitution as well as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Tinubu.
“The attention of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has been drawn to a false and misleading report by an online publication insinuating that the cancellation of activities marking Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary was linked to an alleged attempted military coup.
The report also made spurious references to the recent DHQ press release announcing the arrest of sixteen officers currently under investigation for professional misconduct.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) wishes to categorically state that the claims by the said publication are entirely false, malicious, and intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace”, the statement read.
It maintained that “the decision regarding the cancellation of 65th independence anniversary parade was to allow Mr President attend a strategic bilateral meeting outside the country and for members of the AFN to sustain the momentum on the fight against terrorism, insurgency and banditry”.
