The Nigerian Army has denied attaching any soldier or group of soldiers to any politician or political party in any state in the South-East.
The denial was contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Enugu by the Deputy Director, Public Relations, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Col. Sagir Musa.
According to the statement, the Nigerian army insisted it was apolitical and would “remain apolitical, neutral and totally insulated from any form of politics.”
Pointing out that the Nigerian Army’s Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement was unambiguous and did not include attaching soldiers to politicians; Musa said that at no time had any personnel of the Nigeria Army been attached to a prominent politician in Abia state or any other state in the South-East.
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Musa, who was reacting to an online publication accusing the army of having posted “dozens of soldiers” to a prominent politician in Abia challenged anybody with a contrary claim to produce photo or video evidence for further proof.
The report had also alleged that the politician was using the army personnel “to instigate violence in the state.
“Based on this hollow allegation, the 14 Brigade and indeed the 82 Division Nigerian Army hereby restate that there is not a single soldier or group of soldiers attached to any political figure in Abia.
“Nigerian Army personnel will remain totally insulated from any form of politics, political party leaning or attachment to any politician before, during and after the 2019 general elections,’’ Musa said.
