The Nigerian Army has rebuffed news of protesting soldiers engaged in the war against Boko Haram which was reported by some media outlets.

In a statement released by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Army revealed that its attention was drawn to a partiucular news article titled “Angry soldiers Block, Release GOC Over Food, Water Shortage” which has made its rounds on news outlets.

Debunking the veracity of the news, Usman said that nothing akin to a protest by disgruntled troops after the capture of the strategic forest of Alagarno happened.

He however, admitted that after the capture of the former Boko Haram operation site, soldiers ran into a problem of shortage of water which was subsequently solved by the Army before it could pose any real threat.

The statement read in part: “While acknowledging that indeed troops that captured the strategic forest of Alagarno, experienced some logistics problem that include water shortage, due to some unforeseen circumstances which is normal in war situation, it is not true that the troops behaved in the manner he stated. If Alagarno is truly inaccessible, how did the gallant troops rout out the Boko Haram terrorists in the forest?

“The concoction of this story and the release of yet another video by some remnants of Boko Haram terrorists could be more than mere coincidence. Therefore, one begins to wonder what is the motive behind such false story by the reporter.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Brigadier General VO Ezugwu indeed visited the troops and also supplied water to them. The GOC did not leave the troops as insinuated. Rather, the troops hailed the GOC for his passion and empathic disposition towards the soldiers. As a matter of fact, he actively participated in clearance operations along Bulablin – Alargano axis with the troops and was with them in their defensive location throughout.”

The Nigerian Army has also requested a retraction of the story by the concerned media outlets.

The Army further urged news outlets to strive to confirm the truthfulness of certain stories before filing them as it could go a long way in effecting on National security.

Adebayo Emuleomo