The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has cautioned the federal government against using the recent news of an alleged coup plot as a pretext to clamp down on opposition leaders and begin extra-judicial surveillance on voices that do not agree with it.

The party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said it views any threat to Nigeria’s democratic order with utmost seriousness, but warned that the federal government must not exploit this moment to instill fear, silence dissenting voices, or engineer political advantage under the guise of national security.

The statement reads: “The ADC has been closely monitoring the reports of an alleged coup plot involving arrested military officers and subsequent media claims that a former Southern governor is under investigation for allegedly funding the suspects.

“While we vehemently oppose any effort to undermine Nigeria’s constitutional order, we are equally concerned about the potential misuse of such allegations to justify political witch-hunts, suppress dissent, or manipulate public sentiment.

“We are particularly concerned about the conflicting signals coming from government sources, especially as the Defence Headquarters has publicly denied ever mentioning a coup plot, despite widespread media reports to the contrary. Such inconsistency raises serious fears that the coup narrative may have been politically engineered.

“The ADC is particularly concerned that the federal government has not deemed it fit to make a categorical statement on this very serious matter, especially after the military authorities had repeatedly denied that there was such a threat to the government. By keeping quiet, the government has deliberately allowed the coup story to fester for whatever reason.

“What is clear, however, is that the government is exploiting the coup story to divert attention from the real issues of mis-governance in the country and to curry sympathy.

“Even more significantly, subsequent unattributed media reports purportedly implicating unnamed politicians in the so-called plot now provide a pretext for the government to clamp down on opposition figures or mount undue surveillance on them.

“We understand that the APC government is desperate. But such desperation must never be allowed to endanger our democracy or undermine the democratic rights of citizens.

“The ADC therefore calls on the federal government to immediately clarify the true nature of the alleged coup. Government has a duty to decisively quash the swirling rumour.

“Conversely, if indeed there has been any such threat to national security, the government has a duty to be transparent about it and brief the nation accordingly. Government must desist from weaponising national security as a pretext to silence opposition and political dissent.

“The ADC is resolute in its opposition to dictatorship of any form, whether military dictatorship or its civilian variant. We therefore support any legitimate action that may be taken in defence of our constitution and our democracy. In the same vein, we oppose any ploy by the government to intimidate legitimate voices under the guise of national security.”