NIGERIA’S Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed a claim by a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, that the State Security Service (SSS) had informed the military of an impending attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
The DHQ described the claim as “wild and unsubstantiated.”
Responding to the claim in a statement he issued yesterday, July 9, 2022, the DHQ Director of Defence Information, Jimmy Akpor, said although the military could have ignored Femi Fani-Kayode’s allegation, members of the public would be misled by it.
“The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to a video produced by Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, wherein he made wild and unsubstantiated allegations against the Armed Forces of Nigeria, regarding the recent spate of terrorist attacks, particularly the attack of the prison in Kuje–Abuja on 5 July 2022.
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“Ordinarily the video and its maker would have been ignored, considering the antecedents of the person behind it as a known rabble-rouser. However, in the interest of members of the public who might be misled by the deliberate falsehood and the sensibilities of service personnel and their families who have been paying dearly to keep Nigerians safe, it has become urgent to respond to the video currently circulating in the social media,” he said in the statement.
He added that Fani-Kayode was in no position to know of any correspondence between the SSS and the military.
Akpor noted in the statement that Fani-Kayode also alleged that the military was aware of a terror attack on a train headed to Kaduna from Abuja in March, describing the claim as a calculated attempt to create rivalry between government agencies.
“In all these allegations, Mr Kayode is merely playing to the gallery. He is not in any position to know whether the DSS notified the military of any attack or not. It may not be impossible that such a claim is part of a calculated attempt to cause division and rivalry amongst all government agencies that have been working collaboratively in addressing issues of insecurity in the country.
“The claim that soldiers were withdrawn from the Kuje Correctional Custodial Centre before the attack is laughable. It is sad that Mr Kayode is ignorant of whose responsibility it is to guard prison,” he said.
Akpor also said Fani-Kayode’s allegations dishonour the sacrifices of the military and urged him to get more familiar with the Defence media operations.
“Mr Fani-Kayode is also called to refresh himself on the constitutional roles of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. In all, subordination to civil authority is key. It is pertinent to state that the Nigerian Armed Forces has toiled to sustain and nurture our democracy, hence the same military cannot contemplate a coup de tat, as alluded to by Mr Kayode in his video,” he said.
Fani-Kayode had called for the sack of the Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya, over the rising spate of insecurity in the country.
In a series of tweets and a video released earlier this week, Fani-Kayode had said the military refused to act on prior information given to them by operatives of the SSS.
“The DSS, NIA & NPF are doing their job & they have lost so many men in the course of this conflict. Our young soldiers & junior officers who are fighting in the killing fields are doing their best too but why are our senior officers and military commanders so incompetent and weak? Is there not more to this than meets the eye?
“It is increasingly difficult to comprehend the glaring incompetence & lack of patriotism, professionalism, diligence & courage of the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces,” Fani-Kayode said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.