The Nigerian Military has warned Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, against making unverified allegations against its personnel in the theatre of operations.
The warning came as part of the recommendations of an investigative team set up to verify the allegations by the governor that soldiers in the war front have been engaging in farming and fishing activities.
The leader of the investigative team, Major General Felix Omoigui, who is also the Deputy Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, sounded the warning when he briefed reporters on the findings of the team on Friday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
According to him, the allegations emanated from personnel of some security agencies, which were neither investigated nor verified before reporting same to the governor.
Omoigui who described the allegations as false and malicious explained that when the team visited Baga town, there were no records of fishing or farming by the troops as alleged.
He noted that the Standing Operative Procedures of the military prohibited troops from engaging in farming and fishing activities in Area of Responsibility, adding that soldiers have been constantly warned not to get involved in any farming and fishing activities.
The General stressed that the investigative team also found that the entire area of Baga was too heavily mined with Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to encourage any farming activity, disclosing that 55 mines have so far been detonated since the town was reclaimed.
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He stated further: “The allegations were conjured by some overzealous security agencies who for personal glory and without recourse for the tenets of inter-agency cooperation decided to propagate falsehood.
“The Governor of Borno State believed these allegations levelled against troops of the 19 Brigade in Baga given his recent utterances.
“Remarks of highly placed persons are capable of demoralising the troops which would negatively impact on operations and the confidence of the locals in the military.
“Allegations of such nature could be avoided if the military authority was contacted on issues concerning troops activities before going public.
“The realisations that the allegation emanated from security agencies could trigger reactions and animosity among troops and attendant negative consequences.”
According to Omoigui, the report recommends that Governor Zulum should be advised on the need to contact the Headquarters of the Theatre Command to verify any allegation against troops in Operation Lafiya Dole.
While declining to name the supposed security outfit from which the allegations emanated, Omoigui advised security agencies to educate their personnel on the need to verify issues before disseminating same as intelligent reports.
