New Telegraph

Military to officers: No room for mutiny, disloyalty

The military high command has warned officers and personnel against acts of disloyalty, reminding them of the oath of allegiance and total loyalty to constituted authority in the country. While warning against acts that constituted mutiny, the Armed  Forces of Nigeria renewed its mandate “to suppress insurrection and act in aid of civil authorities to restore order.”

 

It said any act to the contrary was unconstitutional and will be viewed seriously. “And for the avoidance of doubt, the Armed Forces of Nigeria is totally loyal to the President/ Commander-in-Chief and fully subordinated to the civil authorities of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” it said.

 

In a statement, yesterday, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major General John Enenche, said the renewed commitment became imperative, in view of an alleged “inciting and instigative” comment said to have been made by the national chairman of the National Democratic Party.

According to Enenche, by referring to a former Ghanaian President, Jerry Rawlings, the politician was inadvertently calling for insurrection. “While the Defence Headquarters does not wish to join issues in anyway, it is instructive to observe that this unguided utterance targeted at the Nigerian Military is inciting and instigative.

 

“What Chidi Chukwuanyi is calling for is a combination of unpopular acts of insurrection and mutiny, which cannot be taken for granted by the Armed Forces of Nigeria. “Consequently, I am directed by the High Command of the Nigerian Military to let the general public know and remind personnel of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, that all officers and men of the Nigerian Military swore to an oath of allegiance to be totally loyal to the civil authority of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and protect the constitution.

 

“This translates to unalloyed loyalty to the President and Commander- in-Chief and full subordination to the civil authorities of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he stated. He added: “That all officers and men of the Armed Forces of Nigeria are to continue to abide by the constitutional provision, in Section 217 sub section 2 (c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. “That all officers and men of the Nigerian Military are further reminded of offences contained in Armed Forces Act CAP A 20,

The laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which include among others mutiny in Sections 52 and 53, which, if committed, are punishable. “I am further directed to state clearly and unequivocally that the Nigerian Military is a force that is in consonance with all global best practices and cannot be misguided by any individual or group. “And for the avoidance of doubt, the Armed Forces of Nigeria is totally loyal to the President, Commander-in-Chief and fully subordinated to the civil authorities of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

 

Referring to the said “inciting” comment, the statement noted thus: “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to a newspaper publication (not New Telegraph) of 26 July 2020 captioned “Nigeria Needs a Rawlings Now – NDP”. “In this publication, the national chairman of National Democratic Party (NDP), Chidi Chukwuanyi, says the state of corruption in the country calls for the replication of the Ghanaian experience under former President Jerry Rawlings in Nigeria.

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