We will resist any coup attempt- Bola Tinubu warns military
Senior politicians in Nigeria have vowed to resist an attempt to stage a coup, local media report, amid rumours of a move by some army officers to seize power while President Muammadu Buhari is on medical leave in the UK.
The Vanguard newspaper quoted the leader of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as saying that “they should not try it – those who want to break the democracy that many died for”.
House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun was quoted by This Day newspaper as saying that the military would find it difficult to take power after 17 years of uninterrupted democracy in Africa’s most populous state.
Rumours of a coup plot were fuelled last week after chief of army staff Tukur Buratai issued a statement, warning solders to steer clear of politics and saying he had received information that “some individuals have been approaching some officers and soldiers for undisclosed political reasons”, the Premium Times reported.
The rumours may be linked to the fact that Mr Burutai had reshuffled the upper echelons of the military, and President Buhari was on medical leave in the UK, it reported.
