22nd December, 2020
Michael Adeshina
The Defence Headquarters said Governor Babagana Zulum was wrong to tag gallant Nigerian Army personnel as extortioners at checkpoints in Borno State.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno had on Monday accused security personnel including soldiers of collecting money from travelers on major roads in the state to the detriment of their duties.
However, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement on Tuesday, said the army was not joining issues with the Governor but need to clarify his statement.
He, however, described the governor’s statement as “the media or open-air accusation”.
According to him, all personnel of the Armed Forces are patriotic and focused on their call of duty.
See the full statement released by Maj.-Gen. John Enenche below:
The attention of the Nigerian Military has been drawn to the media/air accusation by the Executive Governor of Borno State, that Nigerian Army personnel deployed at checkpoints in Operation LAFIYA DOLE collects money from commuters. While the Nigerian Military is in no way joining issues with the Governor, it is necessary to clarify this generalised statement against the troops who without hesitation lay down their lives for all Nigerians.
It is worthy of note that, the Armed Forces of Nigeria have internal mechanisms to checkmate and sanction appropriately its erring personnel. Additionally, reported cases from the public in this regard are investigated and given the desired attention. Thus, it will not be correct to rely on media or open-air accusations to tag our gallant Nigerian Army personnel as extortioners at checkpoints in Borno State. All personnel of the Armed Forces are patriotic and focused on their call of duty.
The High Command of the Nigerian Military hereby re-states the commitment of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other Security Agencies to tackling and ending the insurgency and terrorism in the North East.