The Nigerian Army (NA) has dismissed a claim of mass killing in the South-East.
A self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, had recently accused the army of mass killing of innocent people in the region.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, pointed out that the Finland-based Ekpa had been carrying out a mischievous and systematic campaign of calumny against the army.
He said Ekpa had through spurious and unfounded claims, raised alarm in a viral video alleging that troops of the Nigerian Army were carrying out a mass killing of innocent Igbos and dumping them in the river.
The spokesman stressed that 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.
Nwachukwu 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.
“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.”
He added that preliminary findings also revealed that the incident took place in the South-West and not the South-East as advertently portrayed by the dissident.
“Consequently, the army 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,” he added.
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