Soldiers who get involved in politics will be fired, The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, declared yesterday.
Warning soldiers to stay clear of politics, the COAS said their role of was to support and protect the nation’s sovereignty.
He spoke while addressing officers and men of the force during a visit to the 1 Division Nigerian Army Headquarters in Kaduna.
Buratai said: “Get yourself involved in politics and you have my assurance that you will pay for it.
“You must remain professional and responsible, we must remain apolitical. We have no role to play in politics. It is not part of our mandate. Our role is only supportive, so we must remain within our mandate.”
He informed that a committee has already been set up to investigate allegation of involvement of the military in Ekiti State election and vowed that whoever is found guilty of the allegation will pay for it.
“I will not tolerate any act of indiscipline within and outside uniform. You must remain loyal to government and all constituted authorities,” the COAS added.
On the fight against insurgency, the COAS said their efforts were yielding positive results.
He reiterated the determination of meeting the December deadline to flush out the insurgents.
“We are making substantial progress in the operation in the North East. We are also intensifying our intelligence gathering and support from the populace.
“Our mandate is not only to defeat terrorism but to also provide humanitarian support.
“We have succeeded so far in liberating individuals and communities, internally displaced towns have been secured and returned to normalcy and civil administration.”
On the allegation that the military is seeking for mercenaries to assist them in meeting the December deadline, he said “that is not true”.
He, however, reechoed the need for synergy between the army and other security and paramilitary agencies in the fight against insurgency.
COAS also informed the officers that the army has fully keyed into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and any fund withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is being monitored to ensure accountability and prudency.
He further charged the officers against any form of corrupt tendencies, stressing that “zero tolerance to corruptioný is being implemented in full.”
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