The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher  Musa, has ruled out the possibility of  a coup d’etat in Nigeria, assuring that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is dedicated to standing by democracy.

General Musa while speaking to reporters during his first official visit to 6 Division of the Nigerian Army Headquarters in Port Harcourt, assured Nigerians that the military is dedicated to protecting them.

“I actually came around starting from Imo State I went to Bayelsa, now in in Rivers State all through to try and encourage the troops to continue to do more and to remain professional.

“We want Nigerians to be assured that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is here for them, we are here to protect them; we are here to protect democracy and ensure that democracy thrives.

“They should exercise no fear; we have had a number of coups in countries around Nigeria – we had Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. I know there were a lot of apprehensions, I want to assure everyone that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is dedicated, is committed in ensuring, in securing, supporting and standing by democracy,” the CDS said.

He also disclosed some measures put in place to curb oil theft in the Niger Delta region, adding that President Bola Tinubu has approved some funds to get equipment that will help the military in the fight against oil theft.

“The President has equally approved some funds for us to buy enablers to assist us in fighting this menace of crude oil theft and criminality. We are going to leverage a lot on technology; that will give us a lot of leverage.

“We want to appeal to all those criminals doing those things that we are coming after them, it is good, it is wise for them to stop. The military is dedicated in ensuring that we restore peace. We want the crude oil production in Nigeria to grow so that Nigerians can enjoy the dividends of democracy.”

The Chief of Defence Staff, who has been on an official visit to some states in the South-South and South-East region this week, commissioned some projects at the 6 Division, Port Harcourt.

The projects include the 46 engineers brigade counter improvised explosive device squadron complex, 29 battalion newly-constructed magazine and 26 support engineer regiment corporal and below quarters.