The Nigerian military has dismissed reports that its brigade of guards, which protects the president, had been put on high alert following unusual troop movements appearing to indicate a coup plot was underway.
The defence headquarters said the report by Sahara Reporters was “malicious and unfounded” and threatened legal action.
The online paper reported Sunday that the commander of the guards’ brigade had met with President Bola Tinubu multiple times and the brigade was placed on “high alert after unusual, armoured corps movement spurred coup suspicion.”
The acting director of defence information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, said in a statement on Monday that the “allegation is totally false” as the brigade “has always been on high alert.”
“The DHQ strongly condemn this unsubstantiated assertion which is just a figment of imagination of the publisher and enjoins members of the public to disregard it,” he said.
Mr Gusau called on security agencies to take action against the paper’s publisher. Publishing reports on national security is not a crime in Nigeria.
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The development comes as Nigeria faces a grim economic crisis that has created tension in the country.
The Nigerian Labour Congress has vowed to proceed with its planned protest Tuesday over cost-of-living crisis caused by the government’s mishandling of economic reforms.
The removal of petrol subsidy and devaluation of the naira pushed prices to the highest levels in about 30 years. Millions of families are facing hunger as hardship mounts.
The government’s response has been slow while its cost of governance has barely reduced.
Military rule ended in Nigeria in 1999 after 29 years of dictatorship.
Last week, defence chief General Christopher Musa warned against calls for a military takeover as more people frustrated by the hardship and the last elections, have criticised the government.
In the last month, protests took places in Kano, Ogun, Niger, Sokoto, Oyo and Osun states over economic hardship.
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