Opposition political parties under the aegis of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) have accused the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, of plots to return Nigeria to military rule.
The group stated this on Monday in response to the alleged activities of soldiers during the Saturday governorship and state assembly elections in Rivers.
Videos and photos circulating on social media showed soldiers directly involved in all forms of electoral offences, harassing electorate, electoral officials, observers and aiding thugs to snatch ballot boxes among others.
The Army has however claimed that those soldiers seen in the videos indulging in electoral irregularities were impostors masquerading as Nigerian soldiers.
But CUPP in a statement through its first national spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere, insisted that the Nigerian Army was responsible for those electoral offences in Rivers.
He argued that the action of the military was tantamount to treasonable felony and called on all lovers of democracy to resist it.
“The Coalition of United Political Parties has reviewed the performance of the Nigerian military in the just -concluded governorship election in some parts of the country and has come to the conclusion that the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, is nursing a secret agenda to return the country to a military rule .
“We make bold to say that Buratai’s brazen use of armed soldiers to attack officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and upturn electoral process were testing grounds for his plot to truncate Nigeria’s democracy.
“We hereby raise the alarm loud enough for all lovers of democracy to hear that an electoral war is looming in states like Rivers over the desperate moves by the Nigerian Army and the All Progresives Congress to announce fake governorship election results in Army Barracks in favour of an unknown and non – existence party called AAC.
“We condemn in unequivocal terms President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Army Staff over this reckless overthrow of electoral process in Rivers State with the APC thugs and security agents.
“We hereby say without mincing words that the undemocratic activities of the military and other security agencies in Rivers State are tantamount to treasonable felony and should be viewed and treated that way.
“This is an assault on democratic institutions in the country and should be resisted and condemned by all lovers of democracy within and outside the country,” the statement read.
Observers had expected that Rivers election will be peaceful expecially as the main opposition party in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), following court rulings, was barred from participating in the election in the state.
However the state governor, Nyesom Wike, had before the Electiin Day accused a former governor of the state and a serving minister in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Nigerian Army of plots to cause confusion and ensure that elections in the state were disrupted.
