Military commanders don’t have to obey Buhari, says Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), says President Muhammadu Buhari is more of
a power monger than a Democrat.

He said military commanders do not have to obey the president in
carrying out orders that are inconsistent with the law of the
land.

Atiku said Buhari just put on the garb of a Democrat so he could
return to power, but remains a general.

Speaking at the 84th emergency meeting of the PDP national
executive council, Atiku said Buhari was not involved in the
struggle for democracy in Nigeria.

“I want to direct this message to our military commanders and
officers. You know that the military commanders and officers are
not bound to execute orders that are manifestly unlawful,” Atiku
said.

“This is the law, this is the tradition in the military; so if
you are a professional military officer and soldier and also a
policeman, you are not bound to execute an order that is manifestly
unlawful, no matter who issues that order.”

On Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari said he has ordered the
military and the police to be ruthless, warning that anyone who
snatches ballot box will pay with his life.

Sagir Musa, army spokesman, told TheCable that the army’s
involvement starts and ends with the provision of a peaceful and
secure environment for the conduct of the elections.

“Our actions are guided by the extant rules of engagement and
code of conduct. The constitution of Nigeria is the grundnorm
guiding all our actions,” he said.

Elections are due for February 23, 2019 and March 9, 2019.