The Nigerian Army on Saturday dismissed as untrue a reported tribal war at the 82 Division, Enugu, which allegedly claimed three lives.
Report had emerged online that following a perceived “tribal deployment of troops to the Niger Delta”, crisis engulfed the 82 Division, leading to the death of a military commander and two soldiers.
However, in a press statement made available to Famzn News by Colonel H.A. GAMBO, the Deputy Director Army Public Relations, he described the report as “baseless and at best, mere figment of the author’s jaundiced imagination.”
The statement read in full:
“The attention of Headquarters 82 Division, Nigerian Army has been drawn to a deliberate campaign of misinformation that is being currently circulated in the social media.
“In specifics, a subversive group named ‘EASTERN RADIO’ with no known address or identity orchestrated an unfortunate caption and storyline with insinuation of ‘Tribal War at Army Barracks, 82 Division Enugu’.
“The colouration of ethnic and tribal collusion that greeted the misinformation is rather unfounded, baseless and at best mere figment of the authors’ jaundiced imagination.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let it be emphatically stated that the Nigerian Army remains a national institution which emphasises unity in diversity of the entire Country. There are extant norms, regulations and practices for diversity management in the Nigerian Army which are upheld in 82 Division without compromises.
“The intent and calculations of this band of mis-informant is to cause disaffection amongst own troops and the Country’s populace at large. Their methodology is to employ such campaign of calumny and distortion of an established reign of peaceful, harmonious and esprit-de-corps culture in 82 Division and the entire Nigerian Army.
“However, the campaign is a failed one as the entire Division remains indivisible, unprovoked and not gullible to such cheap and heinous insinuations.
“The general public is hereby called upon to discountece the storyline of EASTERN RADIO and their affiliated secessionist groups. 82 Division Nigerian Army is intact and marching forward together as ever. Above all, the Nigerian Army remains committed to providing aid to civil authority as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) and wishes to reassure the public of the Chief of Army Staff unalloyed commitment to protect lives and property whenever called upon to do so in line with extant provisions of the law.”
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