{"id":4930,"date":"2013-06-08T16:25:03","date_gmt":"2013-06-08T16:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/nigeria-military-denies-new-york-times-report-of-civilian-casualty-in-borno-others\/"},"modified":"2013-06-08T16:25:03","modified_gmt":"2013-06-08T16:25:03","slug":"nigeria-military-denies-new-york-times-report-of-civilian-casualty-in-borno-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-military-denies-new-york-times-report-of-civilian-casualty-in-borno-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria military denies New York Times report of civilian casualty in Borno, others"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Agency Reporter<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Defence Headquarters has denied a New York Times newspaper report that the Nigerian military was killing innocent civilians in the attempt to flush out Boko Haram insurgents in the three states under emergency rule.<\/p>\n

The Federal Government had on May 14, declared a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.<\/p>\n

A statement by the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General A. Olukolade, in Abuja on Friday said the New York Times report that dwelt on \u201catrocities being committed by the Nigerian military against innocent civilians\u201d, sought to create in the minds of its reader\u2019s an imaginary refugee situation in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt quoted non-existent people, painted a picture of an army that cannot distinguish between the enemy and unarmed civilians; an army that turns its guns against the same people it is out to protect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is certainly not the Nigerian Armed Forces, and there is no killing of civilians in the on-going operation as New York Times desperately sought to portray.<\/p>\n

\u201cImbued with half- truths, unsubstantiated claims and outright misrepresentations, the report, as in some others carried by their fellows in the certain media, strived in futility to demonise the ongoing operation in the North-East, all with the intention of bringing to disrepute, the character and professionalism of the Nigerian military and security agencies,\u201d the military claimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cApart from the reference to its series of usually faceless sources, there is so far no reasonable evidence of the allegations so zealously presented by the New York Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is indeed no basis for such situation neither has there been any credible report from responsible quarters in Nigeria,\u201d the military added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe claim that \u2018Nigerian refugees are pouring into Niger Republic\u2019 despite the unambiguous rebuttal by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Borno State Government is another pointer to the deliberate misrepresentation of facts by New York Times and its allies in the social media.<\/p>\n

The military alleged that the foreign media was biased against its operations and asked Nigerian media not to collaborate with her foreign colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, if the foreign media, propelled by whatever ulterior motive, have resolved to whip up resentment against our institutions, it is certainly not incumbent on any of our local media organisations in Nigeria to offer its platform for the orchestration of such mischief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the light of the foregoing, the Defence Headquarters acting in concert with the Ministry of Defence, wishes to alert Nigerians particularly our local media about this unfortunate tendency and trend in the foreign media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe need for Nigerian media to remain patriotic as they have demonstrated in their coverage of the operation so far is again reiterated please,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The federal government increased the number of deployed soldiers to the three states under emergency rules; with soldiers restricting movements in some areas in the states. All mobile telephone networks, the only functional ones, are also often ordered shut in the affected states, in the soldiers bid to limit communication by the insurgents; a move that has been condemned by residents and which limits, alongside the barricades, residents\u2019 abilities to tell their stories to the public.<\/p>\n

Prior to the emergency declaration, the military was accused of several extra-judicial killings and detentions including the alleged murder of over 185 residents of Baga in Borno State in a reprisal attack against insurgents who killed a soldier.<\/p>\n

NAN<\/p>\n

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