The Nigerian Army may have begun an internal search for soldiers and officers suspected to be engaging in political meetings, a report this morning in Sunday PUNCH said, quoting an unnamed top military source.

“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,” the report said.

PUNCH recalled that on Tuesday, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur 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.”

The paper further quoted the top army source as saying that the army knew quite well the weight of its statement on politicking soldiers in the country, and had already followed up with high intelligence-driven search, adding that the public groups and civil societies could not be more rigorous than the army.

PUNCH said that when contacted, Army Spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Sani K. Usman, said: “The army is a disciplined and professional service. We relate well with the Nigerian public. When there is need to disclose information, we will.”

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