Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, says military takeovers in some West African countries, constitute a threat to democratic values and create unintended consequences in the region.
Musa spoke at the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff in Abuja on Wednesday.
He emphasised that the threat of military takeovers must be firmly resisted, as it negates the core values and responsibilities of the military profession.
He added that in democratic countries, the military must uphold democratic values in line with the principles of their constitutions.
Also, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar; and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar; challenged the service chiefs from the regional bloc to tackle terrorism through effective collaboration to combat illicit movement of small arms and light weapons in West African sub-region.
The meeting held at the Defence Headquarters in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja has regional security as one of its agenda at a time the bloc is considering the establishment of a force that will counter security challenges.
Of the 15 defence chiefs expected at the meeting, those of Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Togo were absent.
At the end of the previous meeting last year August, the defence chiefs had agreed to a comprehensive and holistic approach towards political, security and diplomatic dimensions in addressing the situation in Niger Republic.
