Orlu Crisis: Army disowns video of its operations in Imo

The Nigerian Army has denied the viral video on social media concerning its internal insecurity in Orlu, Imo State.

The Deputy Director, Public Relations Department, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Col. Aliyu Yusuf, in a statement, said on Wednesday in Enugu that one Joseph from Bayelsa’s video shoot is an attempt to “cause resentment and smear campaign against the Nigerian Army Internal Security Operations.”

The statement, in part, reads, “Our attention has been drawn to an orchestrated video clip by an unpatriotic element, being circulated on the social media, claiming to be a soldier by the name Joseph from Bayelsa.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that it was a calculated attempt to maliciously fabricate sensational stories to cause resentment and smear campaign against the Nigerian Army Internal Security Operations.

“The supposed individual in the video wasn’t bold enough to reveal his true identity as claimed or present his so-called military uniform and identity card, which were deliberately obscured to deceive innocent target audience.

The Nigerian Army warned that citizens have the right to hold and share opinions on social media but not to spread divisive contents by unpatriotic individuals.

Col. Yusuf noted that the troops deployed for Internal Security Operations are guided by extant rules and regulations as stipulated in the Nigerian Army Code of Conducts and Rules of Engagement in line with global best practices.

“This mischievous misrepresentation of facts, misinformation, and fabrication of outright falsehood as deliberately made in the video clip is being orchestrated in the social media to tarnish the good image and reputation of the military.

“This great disservice is not acceptable by any standard,” the statement added.

He encourages Nigerians to discard the false information in the video.