Chief of Army Staff:  Military Has No Intent on Undermining Nigeria’s Democracy

Defending the democratic administration that the people of Nigeria have chosen was reaffirmed by Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, the country’s chief of army staff (COAS), on Tuesday.

Speaking during a seminar on career planning and management hosted by the Army headquarters in Abuja, the COAS emphasised that the military has no intention of undermining the country’s democracy.

He admonished the Nigerian Army officers to do their jobs honestly at all times.

“Allow me to take this occasion to emphasise that the Nigerian Army and the Armed Forces of Nigeria have accepted democracy as the preferable form of government,” he said the commanders in his address.

Therefore, we do not want to shorten democracy because we are actors of it. No matter what happens, the Nigerian Army will not stop protecting our constitution.

In accordance with our constitutionally mandated military obligations, our elected officials must take the lead. As they carry out their constitutional obligations, members of the Nigerian Army must, therefore, maintain their professionalism and integrity.

At least seven military coups have occurred in West and Central Africa in the past four years, prompting the COAS to make this vow.

A number of countries that were once part of the ECOWAS bloc have left in the past four years, including Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and most recently, the Niger Republic. Military coups occurred in Sudan and Chad in 2021, in addition to West Africa.