On Wednesday, the Nigerian Army denied that military troops were assisting kidnappers in the South-East.
While narrating his near-death experience at the hands of kidnappers, the Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Samuel Uche, claimed that some soldiers from the north were working with the kidnappers in the region.
"We will take this severe claim seriously and engage the Prelate and the Methodist church to unravel the foundation for the complaint," the Army stated.
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The Bishop of Owerri, Rt. Rev. Dennis Mark, and his chaplain, Very Rev. Abidemi Shittu, were abducted on Sunday along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, according to SaharaReporters.
However, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director of Army Public Relations, responded quickly, saying that the Nigerian Army does not deploy troops based on ethnic identity.
"The Nigerian Army (NA) has been warned of the allegation circulating on social media, alleging collaboration of Nigerian Army forces in the kidnapping incident of the Methodist Prelate in Abia state lately," he stated.
"While the Nigerian Army expresses concern and compassion for the victim of this terrible crime and shares his suffering, the allegation that troops were complicit in the kidnapping incident is not wholly based on any investigation results and thus cannot be swallowed hook, line, and sinker." As a result, this claim raises certain important questions that have yet to be answered.
"Given the recent spate of instability in the region, the question is whether the problem was notified to the unit in charge of the area. Was the NA taken into consideration by the Methodist Church while negotiating the ransom with the kidnappers? The unit has not received any formal complaints. The fact that the ransom was allegedly paid in less than 24 hours is even more concerning. Is it true that the ransom was paid to the troops? These are the kinds of questions that beg to be answered.
"Moreover, neither the Prelate nor the Methodist Church have provided any debriefing to the NA unit." As a result, it is critical to mention that troops are stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Okigwe and in front of Abia State University, Uturu, with no information provided to them, 14 Brigade, or any other formation, other than what is being circulated on social media.
"It must be stated that troops are not deployed in the Nigerian Army based on ethnic affiliation, hence the deployment of troops of Fulani ethnic extraction who carried out the atrocious deed, as alleged by the Prelate, is neither our practise or modus operandi."
"Given our professional demeanour and zero tolerance for any form of misbehaviour in the Nigerian Army, we would take this grave claim seriously and approach the Prelate and the Methodist church to investigate the allegations."