The Nigeria Army has reacted to the allegation by the Methodist Church Prelate, His Eminence Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu-Uche that its troops working with suspected Fulani herdsmen were involved in his recent abduction in Abia.
The Army while saying that the allegation is unsubstantiated noted that it will approach the cleric to unravel the basis for the allegation.
In a statement on Wednesday by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Nigeria Army says given its zero tolerance for any misconduct, it takes the allegation weighty and serious.
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Nwachukwu while expressing sympathy over the plight of the cleric wondered if his allegation has been subjected to investigations, emphasizing that it will not be swallowed hook, line and sinker.
According to the Army Spokesperson, the incident has not been reported to the Army unit covering the area where the cleric was kidnapped.
He said, “While the Nigerian Army expresses concern and sympathy for the victim of this heinous crime and shares in his pains, the insinuation that troops are complicit in the kidnap incident is not entirely premised on any findings of investigations and therefore cannot be swallowed hook line and sinker. This allegation therefore raises some pertinent questions which are still unanswered.
” Given, the spate of insecurity in the region, the question would be, was the issue reported to the unit covering the area? Did the Methodist Church take the NA into confidence while negotiating the ransom with the kidnappers? No formal complaint has been received by the unit. More worrisome is the fact that it was alleged that the ransom was paid in less than 24 hours. Was the ransome paid to troops? These are questions that beg for answers.
“Moreso, the NA unit, has not received any debrief from the Prelate or the Methodist Church.”
He expressed dissatisfaction that no information was disclosed to any military formation in the state regarding the abduction apart from the information flying on the social media.
“It is therefore, important to state that troops are deployed at Forward Operating Base(FOB) Okigwe and in front of the Abia State University Uturu and no information was made available to them or to 14 Brigade or any other formation, except the information making the rounds in the social media.
“It must be clarified that troops’ deployment in the Nigerian Army is not done with considerations for ethnic affiliation, hence a deployment of troops of Fulani ethnic extraction who as alleged by the Prelate, carried out the dastardly act is not our practice or modus operandi in the NA.
“Given our professional disposition and zero tolerance for any misconduct in the Nigerian Army , we will take this weighty allegation seriously and approach the Prelate and the Methodist church to unravel the basis for the allegation,” he stated.
