THE National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, a pro-democracy group has raised the alarm over the militarisation of Nigeria by the àrmy led by Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff.

NADECO, in a statement made available to Realnews at the weekend in Port Harcourt,   said the deployment of soldiers to tackle Biafra agitators in the South East without approvals by appropriate authorities was unconstitutional and a gradual take over of Nigeria through a coup.

The statement which was signed by Rear Admiral Godwin KANU (rtd), chairman of NADECO, accused the military of illegally usurping the functions of the National Assembly, the Abia State House of Assembly, among other authorities.

NADECO said the soldiers’ action was “inconsistent with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and may be the beginning, if not checked, of the unwitting or witting subversion of democracy in Nigeria.”

The statement reads: “On Sunday 10th of September, 2017, the Nigerian Armed Forces invaded South East Nigeria, and in particular Abia State with a large contingent of soldiers, armored tanks and other military paraphernalia.

“In Abia State, the soldiers invaded communities, tortured civilian population, over-awed the constitutionally elected governor and civil .institutions of the state, and declared the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) a terrorist organisation, in defiance of the judgment of the Federal High Court.

“All of these actions are unconstitutional and represent an illegal take-over of the functions of the National Assembly, the Abia State House of Assembly and the legal authorities “.

The group which said that it was committed to securing and protecting Democracy in Nigeria, however, warned that it was time once again to rise and defend democracy in our dear country.

“We are very troubled by recent national developments and are forced to issue this warning to all our compatriots that democracy is once again under threat in our nation,” they lamented.

On restructuring, NADECO said that what was actually being canvassed for was true Federalism, adding that it was the problem with Nigeria and what was causing all the agitations and instability.

What we have today is an inverted federation which the Military converted Nigeria to, it said.

– Sept 24, 2017 @ 12: 15 GMT /

– Sept 24, 2017 @ 11: 05 GMT /