The Army in a statement on Saturday signed by its spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu described such claims as spurious and derogatory, aimed at smearing the image of the service.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, otherwise known as Intersociety, a civil society organisation, has reacted to a statement by the Nigerian Army denying claims that its personnel were collaborating with armed herdsmen and bandits to terrorise the South Eastern part of the country as well as Benue state.
The Army in a statement on Saturday signed by its spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu described such claims as spurious and derogatory, aimed at smearing the image of the service.
Nwachukwu added that the Army will not succumb to intimidation by groups giving these narratives.
However, Intersociety in a release on Sunday said “not only that nothing meaningful was said in the Army’s statement but critical issues raised by Intersociety were deliberately dodged and left unaddressed.”
It said professionalism, neutrality and secularism left the Nigerian military in June 2015, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari came to power.
The release was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, (Criminologist/Researcher), Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire and Chidinma Udegbunam Esquire.
It read, “The Nigerian Army had in its statement stammered and deliberately dodged critical issues raised in our statement. For instance, Intersociety had debunked the Army’s false claims of “killing two ESN/IPOB terrorists specialized in detonating improvised explosive devices around Eke-ututu in Orsu-ihiteukwa part of Imo State on 30th August 2022”.
“We had investigated and found that the slain were defenseless block molders shot and killed at their block molding industry arena while the third person was an elderly man of over 70 years dragged out from his abode, shot in his two legs and left to bleed to death, who later bled to death.
“Intersociety also gave their names as Citizens Ugochukwu Obianali and Chinonso and Senior Citizen Nicholas Onwughala. Soldiers of the Nigerian Army also riotously invaded a Community Health Center in neighboring Amalulu at late night of 30th August 2022 and abducted scores of the Health Center’s staff and patients on admission, claiming that 'they got an intelligence report that a suspected IPOB member’s wife was admitted at the Health Center as she was about to put to bed'.
“In the Army statement, two issues above were silenced. Silenced too was the flooding of key Army formations in the South-East with senior officers and combatants of Northern Muslim extraction including the GOC, 82 Division, Enugu, the Brigade Commanders of 14 Brigade, Ohafia and 34 Brigade, Obinze and the Cantonment Commandant of the Onitsha 302 Artillery; all Northern Muslims. These are just to highlight but a few.
“Professionalism, Neutrality, Secularism and Pluralism Left The Military Since June 2015. Noted is the fact that the Nigerian Military particularly the Army had suffered years of bastardization starting from the Civil War, post-civil war and military eras, but its current bastardization since July 2015 is heading to the maddening point of irreversibility. Unlike the previous bastardization periods caused by ethnicity and military tyranny, the present bastardization in the Military is more menacing, taking a religious dimension which has re-ignited the old wounds caused by ethnic and tribal divisions and hatred leading to the break out of the Civil War.
“For instance, the Nigerian Military was pluralistically, secularly, neutrally and professionally composed indigenously between 1957 and 1966, after which it was marred by ethnicity and tribalism leading to the country’s bloody Civil War of 1967-70. After the Civil War, the Nigerian Military became semi-professionalized leading to its handing over to civilians in 1979. The Military retained its secularity, national identity and semi-professionalism after June 1998 leading to handing over to civilians on 29th May 1999 and same was the case till June 2015.
“However, things got changed and deteriorated to present from July 2015 when radical religiosity hit the Military and infested its composition, ranking and postings like a virus and disappeared its traditional professionalism, neutrality, secularism and pluralism. This was to the extent that in 2019, the Military became manifestly partisan in the country’s General Elections, especially the Presidential segment and made negative headlines in western capitals. Earlier in Jan 2017, the Military jets bombed and killed 236 Christian IDPs in Kale-Balge Local Government of Borno State.
“Eleven months later in Dec 2017, the Military conducted air raids simultaneously with Jihadist Fulani herdsmen who mounted ground attacks in Numan, Adamawa State and the two simultaneous attacks, according to international rights reports and local witnesses, killed no fewer than 80 rural Christians. Military helicopters have severally been spotted by local eyewitnesses bombing or dropping weapons for Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in Southern Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, etc. Since July 2015, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen have unofficially been presidentially pronounced “untouchables” and roundly protected by the Military to date.
“There have never been meaningful moves by the Military personnel deployed in Eastern Nigeria to flush out the occupying Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in the South-East Triangular of Isuochi, Okigwe, Umulolo and environs where several dozens of defenseless citizens have been killed and hundreds abducted and scores disappeared without traces till date since the beginning of 2021.
“Time For Retired Generals Of 1979-1983/June 1999-June 2015 To Rescue The Military. Intersociety as globally recognized researcher and investigator is in possession of statistics on what befell national militaries of different countries that compromised their neutrality, professionalism and secularity, especially in their heterogeneously or pluralistically composed societies. Most of them ended up being ethnic militias or extremist religious armed entities.
“Therefore in the case of the present Nigerian Military particularly the Army, time is running out for its rescue and rebranding. To this end, there must be an immediate convocation of eminently retired Generals and other retired senior military officers especially those that served or held sway between 1979 and 1983 and June 1999-June 2015. To be included in the list are retired Generals and others that participated in returning the country to civil rule in 1978/1979 and 1998/1999. Excluded from the list are retired Generals (and their equivalents in the Navy and the Air Force) and others who held sway from July 2015 to August 2022 and those that will retire from Sept 2022 and above.
“The latter are excluded because they have trailer-loads of conduct atrocity baggage and been corruptly, religiously and tribally radicalized. The former are hereby called upon to rescue the Nigerian Military, especially the Army. This is as a matter of uttermost immediacy and national cohesive importance and must be done bearing in mind the multicultural and multi-religious composition of the country enshrined in the country’s Constitution and its Treaty Laws. The rescue must include returning the Nigerian Military to professionalism, neutrality, secularism and pluralism.”