By Odimmegwa Johnpeter, Abuja
The Nigerian Army has denied an allegation of extortion by its personnels on motorist plying the Benin-Agbor Expressway.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen on Monday by the Army Spokesman Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima.
According to the statement, “the Directorate of Army Public Relations is not unaware of all manner of video clips, both real and manipulated, which have been springing up on social media purportedly depicting one scene or the other involving personnels of the Nigerian Army”.
“One of such videos was the one said to have been shot in Edo State in which soldiers were alleged to have blocked the Benin -Agbor Expressway demanding illegal toll of N1000 from each luxurious bus that ply the road.”
“In the said video clip, it was also alleged that pandemonium ensued following an allegation that transporters refused to pay the illegal toll”.
It said after analyzing the video, with several confirmatory enquiries, the army said it was a deliberate orchestration of falsehood and gross misrepresentation of facts produced and circulated to deliberately smear the image of the Nigerian Army.
It further said from their investigation, there was an imposition of a state wide curfew by the Edo State Government; sequel to the aftermath of the #End SARs protest which it said is yet to be reviewed due to the resurgence of the COVID 19 pandemic in Edo State.
“Consequent upon this, motorists park a few meters away from the check point mounted by soldiers and await the opening of the road by 0500hrs daily.
“Furthermore, the issue of the road closure has been a long time problem with night time commercial drivers who insisted that the road being a federal road is not under the jurisdiction of the government of Edo State”.
“The isolated protest happened on February 17, 2021 at about 2230hrs. This situation was brought under control professionally by troops who were conscious of the rules of engagement and code of conduct for Internal Security operations”.
Nigerian Army says while it recognizes the right of Nigerians to hold and share opinions especially on social media, it should not be used to spread deliberate falsehood.
It said a situation where deliberate misrepresentation of facts and fabrication of outright falsehood are being orchestrated on social media to tarnish the image and reputation of the military will not be accepted.
The Army therefore reassured law abiding public that it remains a very professional force that respects the fundamental human rights of the citizenry in line with global best practices.
It said the Army will neither condone willful breach of law and order nor tolerate indiscipline on the part of its personnel.
It urge the public to discountenance the false information contained in that video.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/dapr-denies-extortion-of-motorist-by-nigerian-army-personnel/
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