The Nigerian Army (NA) has denied the allegation of mass killing in South Eastern Nigeria, as alleged by Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Nwachukwu said that Ekpa, one of the leaders of the IPOB terrorists had been carrying out a mischievous and systematic campaign of calumny against the army.
He said that Ekpa had through spurious and unfounded claims, raised alarm in a viral video alleging that troops of the Nigerian army were carrying out mass killing of innocent Igbos and dumping them in the river.
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According to him, the report also contained some unimaginable and not well-couched falsehoods targeted at whipping up negative sentiments against troops and inciting anarchy in the South East 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 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 identifies them as personnel of the Nigerian Navy, who were engaged in a routine test firing of a weapon system mounted on a vehicle.” (NAN)
“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,” he explained.
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