Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters,
DHQ, on Thursday, rubbished a report by the Wall Street Journal which claimed
that 1, 000 soldiers in the North-East were secretly buried under the cover of
darkness after being killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgents.
The Director of Defence
Information, Onyema Nwachukwu, insisted that the Nigerian Armed Forces does not
engage in the secret burial of soldiers but accords fallen soldiers a befitting
military funeral of international standard.
The Wall Street Journal report
had alleged that about 1,000 soldiers killed by Boko Haram were secretly buried
in the North-East.
However, Nwachukwu maintained
that the report was a figment of the writer’s imagination.
A statement signed by Nwachukwu reads: “The Defence Headquarters has noted with
dismay an Online Article by “Wall Street Journal” purporting that the Nigerian
Military maintains secret graveyards in the North East theatre of operation.
This insinuation can only emanate from an uninformed position of the author of
the said publication.
“It, therefore, becomes necessary
to inform the public that the Armed Forces of Nigeria has a rich and solemn
tradition for the interment of our fallen heroes.
“Therefore, it must be
unambiguously clarified that the Armed Forces of Nigeria does not indulge in
secret burials, as it is sacrilegious and profanity to extant ethos and
traditions of the Nigerian military.
“In tandem with the traditions of
the Armed Forces, Fallen heroes are duly honoured and paid the last respect in
befitting military funeral of international standard, featuring funeral parade,
gravesite oration, solemn prayers for the repose of departed souls by Islamic
and Christian clerics, as well as gun salutes, aside other military funeral
rites.
“The cemetery described in the
publication, which is situated in Maimalari military Cantonment is an
officially designated military cemetery for the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the
North East theatre, with a Cenotaph erected in honour of our fallen heroes. The
official cemetery has played host to several national and international
dignitaries, where wreaths were laid in honour of the fallen heroes. It is,
therefore, a far cry from the sacrilegious impression being painted by “Wall
Street Journal”.
The Defence Headquarters,
therefore, urged members of the Armed Forces and the general public to
disregard the misinformed publication and see it as “a figment of the
imagination of the writer, whose knowledge of military valued ethos and
traditions is grossly misplaced”.
We had earlier reported
that Atiku Abubakar, 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, had challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the reported
secret burial of 1,000 Nigerian soldiers killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
A statement the former vice
president signed on Thursday said the Wall Street Journal report on the matter
was saddening and that the attempt to hide the true state of the war on terror
was heartbreaking and shocking.
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