Former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has said that coup should be seen as an organised crime and punished accordingly to allow democracy to survive in Africa.
Buratai said this at a One-Day International Conference on Organised Crimes put together by the Tukur Buratai Centre for Contemporary Security Affairs, Igbenedion University Okada, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The theme of the conference is “Organised Crimes Network as an Emergent Threats to National Security”.
Buratai, who is also a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, said the battle against organised crime require concerted efforts of experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from diverse sectors.
Buratai said that the contemporary challenges had shown that the military must continue to play its constitutional role without getting involved in governance while democratic governments should govern the citizens well.
He said the military had been the at the receiving end because of the rate of attrition, adding that the crave for democracy now required the military to perform its constitutional role rather than get directly involved with governance.
“They can have many ways to influence the government to make sure that security role is played appropriately and also allow the democrats, the civilians, to perform their roles properly.
