Nigerian Army has dismissed the social media reports alleging complicity of its troops in the recent kidnapping of the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Samuel Kanu-Uche.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Nwachukwu said the insinuation that troops were complicit in the kidnap incident could not be swallowed hook line and sinker as it was not premised on any findings of investigations.
He said the allegation had raised some pertinent questions which were still unanswered.
According to him, given the spate of insecurity in the region, the question would be, was the issue reported to the unit covering the area?
“Did the Methodist Church take the Nigerian Army into confidence while negotiating the ransom with the kidnappers? No formal complaint has been received by the unit.
“More worrisome is the fact that it was alleged that the ransom was paid in less than 24 hours.
“Was the ransom paid to troops? These are questions that beg for answers,” he said.
Nwachukwu said the Nigerian Army unit had not received any debrief from the Prelate or the Methodist Church.
He said that troops were deployed at Forward Operating Base (FOB), Okigwe and in front of the Abia State University, Uturu. NAN
