The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has warned against recirculation of an old video depicting soldiers maltreating women purporting to emanate from Plateau State.
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig-Gen Tukur Gusau, said the video originated from an incident in Sambisa Forest in 2021.
He explained that the video involved wives of Boko Haram members during the capture of terrorist strongholds and not Plateau as erroneously depicted.
He said the misleading video depicted soldiers allegedly mistreating women under the caption “Operation Rainbow in Plateau State”.
“It has come to our attention that the video in question actually originated from an incident that took place in Sambisa forest in 2021, involving the spouses of Boko Haram members during the capture of strongholds of the Boko Haram insurgents and not in Plateau State as falsely claimed.
“DHQ wishes to clarify that the soldiers involved in the aforementioned incident were then promptly sanctioned and dealt with by the military authority at the time it occurred for their unprofessional conduct” he said.
General Gusau said the dissemination of the old video, with a misleading location tag, “is causing unnecessary alarm and has the potential to exacerbate the security situation on the Plateau”.
He therefore urged those recirculating the video to cease from further dissemination, “as their actions are only serving to add fuel to the security challenges currently being addressed by Operation SAFE HAVEN”.
He said, “Our forces are actively engaged in aggressive operations and are dedicated to bringing the perpetrators of recent dastardly acts to justice”.
He reiterated that the Armed Forces remain committed to fostering peace and stability in Plateau State.
He further called on all stakeholders and members of the public to support military efforts by refraining from spreading misinformation that could undermine its collective goal of ensuring the safety and well-being of all residents.
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