- Army says same video was posted on Facebook on 9, 2021
- Nigeria Army maintains a high level of vigilance and professionalism in safeguarding its own armoured vehicles
The Nigerian Army has dismissed a viral video on social media that showed an armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) said to belong to the force that was captured by insurgents.
In a statement by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu, said no such incident ever happened.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a viral, unsubstantiated and apparently fabricated video clip circulating on the social media, portraying the stage managed capture of Nigerian Army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) by Turji Bello, one of the infamous terrorist leaders in North West Nigeria.
“The NA wishes to emphatically state that there was no such incident that involved the capture of any of its APCs within the theatre of operations in the North West, as mischievously and falsely portrayed in the video.
“Analysis of the video clip reveals that the video was doctored, as NA vehicles, including APCs, have NA inscribed on the number plates, which is conspicuously missing on the reportedly captured APC in the video.
“Additionally, on our record, the entire events captured in the footage was not an occurrence that took place at any point in time within the shores of Nigeria, rather, available data points to it, as an event that occurred in Burkina Faso some time in 2021.”
Nwachukwu stated that further investigation showed that the same video was posted on Facebook on 9, 2021.
“Furthermore, the NA maintains a high level of vigilance and professionalism in safeguarding its own armoured vehicles by ensuring that they are not compromised by any criminal element.”
The spokesperson added that the Nigerian Army urges the public to be wary of misinformation and propaganda employed by the insurgents, aimed at precipitating fear and disrupting the peace and security of our nation.