Military Says Second Mutiny Rumour Untrue

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has debunked reports alleging that a second mutiny attempt was carried out by soldiers of 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Borno State that led to the manhandling of their new General Officer Commanding (GOC), Brig-Gen I.Y. Ibrahim.

Ibrahim recently took over from Maj-Gen Mohammed, the immediate past GOC who narrowly escaped death last week after enraged soldiers protesting the death of some of their colleagues in Boko Haram ambush opened fire on him.

The military also disclosed that a cordon and search exercise has led to the discovery of Rocket Launcher production facility at Dorayi District in Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State.

In a statement yesterday, the Director of Defence Information (DDI) Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, described the online report titled: “Second Mutiny in Maimalari Barracks as Soldiers Manhandled Commander”, as untrue.

According to him, the online outlet garnished and dubbed as ‘mutiny’ was just a presentation of complaints by representatives of personnel families who wanted the ban on motorcycles as a means of public transportation in the barracks reversed.

“Soldiers were not involved and there was no single shot fired by soldiers throughout the period as claimed in the report,” he said.

He explained that the ban was part of security measures put in place for the safety of the soldiers and their families, adding that “Acting General Officer Commanding, obliged their request and directed a suspension of the ban pending when the planned alternative transportation arrangement is put in place”.

The Defence Spokesman insisted that the new GOC was not in any way “insulted or manhandled as reported”.

“The imputation of mutiny was concocted by the online medium ostensibly to raise false alarm and create the impression of disquiet in the military. It is very obvious that a section of the media is feasting on the current security challenges and is desperate to sustain the tempo of the crisis through sensational reportage.

“Mutiny is a very grievous breach that attracts severe sanctions in the military and should not be trivialised by those who do not understand its ramifications.

“The general public is therefore requested to discountenance the rumours as no such incident took place. The mass media is again requested to beware of lifting stories on the military from online media as this has become the main channel of disseminating falsehood on happenings in the system,” he said.