The Nigerian Army has debunked the report of alleged deployment of only commanders of Northern extraction to quell tension in the South Eastern part of the country.
Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, Director,Army Public Relations, disclosed this while reacting to an online publication titled “Nigerian Army shuns southern officers, deploy northern commanders to quell tension in South East” in a statement on Monday.
Yerima said, ordinarily, the Nigerian army would have ignored this illogical narrative by the online media but for the good of members of the public.
Accordiing to him, the report was targeted at steering discord and disunity among peace loving Nigerians who, he said had refused to be drawn into supporting the senseless attacks on security apparatus in the South East and South South geopolitical zones of the country.
He said that the army, being a national body does not promote or post its personnel along ethnic or religious lines.
The Army spokesperson added that postings in the Nigerian army were routine exercises based on professional competences not as portrayed by the said publication.
“For the records, let it be clear in everyone’s mind that the NA does not train, deploy or operate along ethnic, religious, tribal or regional divides.
“Senior officers are posted to command units based on their capability and competence taking into consideration their posting history.
“Furthermore, Officers are the most frequently posted personnel of the NA.
“However, because of the bias and seed of discord that the author of the report wanted to sow, it did not allow him to do a thorough background check of his report,” he said.
While discrediting the report, Yerima said that while it is true that the General Officer Commanding 82 Division Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja is from South West, the Commander 34 Brigade Owerri Brigadier General Raymond Utsaha is from the North Central.
He also disclosed that the General Officer Commanding 2 Division Ibadan, Maj.-Gen. Gold Chibuisi is of the South East extraction.
Yerima stated that Brig.-Gen. Farouk Mijinyawa was never the Commander of 16 Brigade as misrepresented by the writer, saying it is clear that the concocted story lacks everything in terms of credibility and exists only in the pigment of the author’s imagination.
He explained that several subversive elements had attempted to discredit the formidable security network in the South East in the past months.
The Army Spokesman said “the uncoordinated and poorly written article exposes the real intent albeit the very low IQ of the author and that speaks volumes on the motive of the publisher.
“Furthermore, the NA would like to request all peace loving Nigerians to disregard the content of the said article in its entirety as it lacks common logic.
“The NA under the able leadership of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, remains committed to the defence of the territorial integrity of Nigeria as well as protecting lives and properties of all citizens and residents in Nigeria.”.
