The Nigeria Army said on Sunday that it will no longer condone any
form of false allegation of brutality by its personnel from Biafran
agitators otherwise known as Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
The army also described the secessionist group as a “criminal gang”.
This warning came from the 6 Division of the Nigeria Army, Port
Harcourt, in response to allegations by one Emma Powerful, who claimed
to be the media and publicity secretary of IPOB. He alleged that
soldiers shot dead 11 IPOB members on January 20 during a solidarity
rally in Port Harcourt to celebrate the election of Donald Trump as
President of the United States of America.
The spokesperson of the Division, Aminu Iliyasu, said soldiers
deployed to ensure peace on the street restrained themselves from
firing a single shot despite provocations from the protesters.
“The allegation is false, malicious and existed in the figment of his
imagination,” the colonel said.
“We therefore wish to warn Mr. Emma Powerful and other like minded
mischief makers that the Nigerian Army will no longer tolerate such
spurious and unfounded allegations that are injurious to the
hard-earned image and reputation of the Nigerian Army, its selfless
and dedicated officers and soldiers by any group of criminals
regardless of their appellation”.
The army spokesperson said on the day of the protest, “members of the
group were mobilized from Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Cross River
States for an alleged rally with dubious intent of molesting innocent
citizens, intimidating passers-by and wrecking havoc on commuters
thereby disturbing public peace, safety and security”.
“The choice of Port Harcourt (the Garden City) as the epicentre of the
protest has left much to be desired. It is however worthy to restate
that one of the constitutional responsibilities of the Nigerian Army
is to come to the aid of the civil authority whenever the need arises.
In line with this constitutional mandate, troops of 29 Battalion
Nigerian Army, were deployed in conjunction with other sister security
agencies to prevent any loss of life or property with strict adherence
to the established Rules of Engagement.
“Despite all provocative attempts occasioned by the stoning of
security agents and the smashing of commuters’ windscreens by the
violent protesters, troops refused to be cajoled into the criminal
gang’s trap to fire a single shot. This is indicative of the troops’
total compliance with their Rules of Engagement. The violent protest
was subsequently subdued with the use of tear gas and arrests were
made by a sister security agency with no casualty recorded on either
side.
“It is however worrisome and disturbing for anyone to falsely accuse
troops deployed in support of civil authority who conducted their duty
professionally under the beaming lenses of cameras of allegedly
killing 11 citizens of our great country. A well observed trend of
this criminal gang is the malicious posting of old videos and pictures
from their archives on social media platforms which has no bearing on
their claims to attract public sympathy and whip sentiments among the
citizenry.
“To this end, Headquarters 6 Division Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt,
wishes to inform the public that the allegation is not true and should
be dismissed as mere propaganda by the separatist group. We wish to
restate our total commitment to the protection of lives and properties
within the Division’s Area of Responsibility.
“We therefore solicit the cooperation and understanding of all peace
loving citizens and further enjoin them to join hands to help
eradicating all forms of criminality within Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom
and Delta States. This will no doubt enhance mutual co-existence,
peace and socio-economic development of the region”.
