FG alleges campaign of calumny against military

Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai looks on at the headquaters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri, Borno State in northcentral Nigeria, on October 4, 2017.<br />The United Kingdom is providing expert training to the Nigerian military in helping to develop the skills necessary to tackle the terror threat of Boko Haram in North East Nigeria. Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency began in 2009 and has killed at least 20,000 and forced more than 2.6 million from their homes. / AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

• Denies Buratai Was Ambushed

The Federal Government has raised the alarm over an alleged campaign of calumny against the leadership of the Nigerian military, “aimed at smearing the efforts of the government at fighting Boko Haram terrorists.”

It said the perpetrators wanted to create an impression that the military and the government do nothing even when they receive information of pending attacks on communities.

A statement signed by Mansur Dan-Ali, Public Relations Officer to the Minister of Defence, Col. Tukur Ismail Gusau, in Abuja, yesterday, reads in part: “The Federal Government of Nigeria has come across credible information on sponsored campaign of calumny against the Nigerian military leadership by some unscrupulous members of the Nigerian society. The campaigners want to disparage the achievements recorded, especially as regards the ongoing clearance operations and establishment of the various Forward Operations Bases (FOBs) by the Armed Forces of Nigeria and describe them as scams.”

The Nigerian Army meanwhile has denied report that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, was wounded by Boko Haram in an ambush.

A statement signed by Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Sani Usman, in Abuja, yesterday, reads: “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to an online publication circulating mostly on social media that the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, has been wounded in an alleged ambush by Boko Haram terrorists at an unnamed location in the North East while on his way to visit troops.

“This is not true. The Chief of Army Staff has not been involved in any ambush. In any case, there was no any recently reported ambush against any of our troops anywhere let alone in the North-East. The public should disregard the ambush story, as it is fake. Nothing has happened to the Chief of Army Staff. He is hale and hearty and conducting his official duties diligently.”