The Nigerian Army (NA) has denied allegations of mass killing in the South East, as alleged by the self acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, yesterday, in Abuja.
Nwachukwu said that Ekpa, one of the leaders of IPOB, had been carrying out a mischievous and systematic campaign of calumny against the army.
He noted that Ekpa had, through spurious and unfounded claims, raised the alarm in a viral video, alleging that troops of the Nigerian Army were carrying out mass killing of innocent Igbo and dumping them in the river.
According to him, the report also contained some unimaginable and not well couched falsehood targeted at whipping-up negative sentiments against troops and inciting anarchy in the region.
He said: “Contrary to the falsehood being spread from the devious propaganda machinery of the desperate and self-serving terrorists’ leader, the army wishes to state that it has conducted a comprehensive investigation on the allegations made by the infamous leader and his associates.
“Accordingly, we wish to categorically refute these baseless claims by throwing more light on the occurrence.
“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.
“In order to ensure 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 prioritising the safety of all involved.”
Nwachukwu said that preliminary findings also indicated that the occurrence took place in the South West region of the country and not the South East, as portrayed by the alarmist propagandists.
He added that there was no evidence to support the assertion that individuals were being shot at in the river, adding that there had not been any report from local communities regarding the discovery of corpses in the area.
“Consequently, the army wishes to enjoin the public to disregard the unfounded claims and irredeemable falsehood being propagated by Ekpa and his associates, whose apparent objective is to disseminate misinformation and incite unrest,” he added.
