The Nigerian Army has described the alleged mass killing by soldiers in southeast Nigeria as a “falsehood targeted at whipping up negative sentiments against troops and inciting anarchy in the southeast region.”
Army spokesperson, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu said this in a statement on Wednesday, June 5.
A self-acclaimed leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, had alleged in a viral video that troops of the Nigerian Army carried out mass killing of innocent Igbos at Oliver and dumped them in the River.
But Gen. Nwachukwu said the IPOB leader’s allegations were punctured after the video was subjected to serious scrutiny.
He said: “In the first instance, the troops in the video footage are not personnel of the Nigerian Army as the insignia visible on their berets clearly identifies them as personnel of the Nigerian Navy, who were engaged in a routine test firing of a weapon system mounted on a vehicle and in order to ensure the safety of other road users and commuters, the troops took precautionary measures by halting vehicular movement along the road until the test firing was safely concluded.
Observers were also kept at a safe distance, maintaining transparency and prioritizing the safety of all involved.
“Secondly, preliminary findings also indicate that the occurrence took place in the Southwest region of the country and not the southeast as advertently portrayed by the alarmist propagandists.
“Furthermore, it was observed that there was no evidence to support the assertion that individuals were being shot at in the river, nor have there been any report from local communities regarding the discovery of corpses in the area.”
The army spokesperson urges the public to disregard the “unfounded claims and irredeemable falsehood being propagated by Simon Ekpa and his associates, whose apparent objective is to disseminate misinformation and incite unrest.”
While saluting the “courage and patriotism of well-meaning and law-abiding Ndigbo” living in the southeast and across the nation, “who despite the brazen atrocities and threats being perpetrated by Simon Ekpa and his terrorists’ group,” have continued to build bridges of peace and harmony across the country and promoting our national ideal of a united Nigeria, Gen. Nwachukwu said the Nigerian Army remains a “pillar of stability and security, committed to the well-being of the nation and her people.”
