Coup scare: Army clamps down on suspected soldiers

The Nigerian Army may have begun an internal search for soldiers and officers suspected to be engaging in political meetings, a top military source has told Sunday Punch. 

The source said that some arrests may have been made, but that the information was being kept as top secret so as not to add to public tension.

Some other sources who spoke with Punch correspondent on Saturday also noted that the  establishment of an army unit in Daura, Katsina State, on Friday, named Muhammadu Buhari Forward Operation Base, by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, was an effort to fortify the president’s hometown and a public pledge of loyalty.

On Tuesday, Buratai, in a tense language, had warned officers and soldiers to steer clear of politics, as information had reached him that some officers were involved in political meetings for “undisclosed reasons.”

The army chief had advised officers and soldiers interested in politicking to resign from the service, as any officer caught would be severely penalised.

-Punch