Report of troops killing Igbo, dumping bodies in river false, mischievous – Army

Report of troops killing Igbo, dumping bodies in river false, mischievous – Army 

The Nigerian Army has denied allegations of mass killing by its troops in South-East of innocent Igbo and dumping their bodies in the river

The claims of mass killing were made by Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

But the Nigerian Army in a statement on Wednesday by Army’s Director of Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, described the allegations as unfounded, mischievous and despicable.

The statement read in part, “The Nigerian Army (NA) has noted with dismay a mischievous and systematic campaign of calumny by Simon Ekpa, a self acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafran terrorists. “The self acclaimed leader through spurious and unfounded claims raised alarm on a viral video alleging that troops of NA are carrying out mass killing of innocent Igbo at Oliver and dumping them in the River.

“The report also contained some unimaginable and not well couched falsehood targeted at whipping-up negative sentiments against troops and inciting anarchy in the South East region.

“Contrary to the falsehood being spread from the devious propaganda machinery of the desperate and self-serving terrorists’ leader, the NA wishes to state that it has conducted a comprehensive investigation on the allegations made by the devious 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 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 South-West region of the country and not the South-East 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 has there been any report from local communities regarding the discovery of corpses in the area.

“Consequently, the NA wishes to enjoin 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. “