The Nigerian Army has frowned at the report of corruption in the Army by Sahara Reporters, saying it was “calculated to destabilize the country”.
The Army made the remarks in a press release issued on Tuesday, alleging a mischievous and systematic smear campaign.
The statement further alleged that Sahara Reporters aimed at inciting troops, heating up the polity and destabilizing the country through perceived “spurious, baseless and false alarm on corruption, nepotism, ethnic and religious bigotry within the Nigerian Army (NA)”.
The statement said that it is”a report which could be best described as being at total dissonance and aberrance with the virtues and symbol of national unity, which the NA and indeed the Armed Forces of Nigeria represent.
“The report also contained some unimaginable slurs targeted at denigrating and demonizing the procedure for the selection of competent troops for Peace Support Operations (PSO), which has over the years earned the NA very well deserved encomiums and enviable status in the comity of nations in global defence, as a professional, hard-fighting, and disciplined institution.
“Considering the unprofessional and irresponsible manner in which the smear allegations were concocted against the NA, it clearly depicts a delusional perception and an abysmal bereftment of the slightest clue on routine processes of deployment exercises in the NA.
“This incorrigible attitude has only further crystalized the inordinate desire of Sahara Reporters to incite mayhem and breakdown of law and order in a concerted effort to engender violence and destabilize the nation, through devious desperate and self-serving machinations.
“It is expedient to state that the real intention or otherwise of the infamous online media in publishing such toxic concoctions at this critical period is targeted at causing disaffection within a united and formidable military.
“It is clear that deliberate falsehood and noxious narratives orchestrated by the online media were to adorn the Nigerian Army in an unfitting garb of infamy calculated to whip up unnecessary aspersion to distract the NA.
“The online news report could have been ignored given its pedigree of unprofessional and yellow page journalism, however, the unacceptable falsehood being propagated demands clarification for the in the interest of well-meaning Nigerians and in honour of selfless officers and soldiers, who have continued to pay the price of defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation and global peace.
“It is on record that officers and soldiers of the NA under the current leadership like never before, have witnessed exceptional positive changes in the morale, fighting spirit and physical components of the force.
“It is therefore crucial to state in very clear terms, that posting and redeployment in various formations and units, including the Army Headquarters is a routine exercise, aimed at ensuring that the NA is effectively manned for operational efficiency and effectiveness.
“Furthermore, over the years, the NA has been very firm with the criteria for selection of those to serve in the PSOs, which include, that personnel must have participated in the ongoing counter-terrorism counter-insurgency operations in the North East for at least 2 years, among other criteria,” it concluded. Read more.