Military leaders in Nigeria have shot down claims made by the ruling party that they want to interfere with the forthcoming presidential election.
An official from the APC party said that generals met with the rival PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in a secret meeting last week.
The army said in a statement that the claims were “wicked” and “malicious.”
There is no clear frontrunner in the contest for president of Africa’s most populous nation.
Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party are the top three candidates.
The military insisted it was above board and “loyal to the constitution,” stating that it would never be a part of a coup d’état against the civilian rule.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria will never be part of any ignoble plot to truncate our hard-earned democracy,” said Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters spokesman.