Army Cautions Nigerian Media Over Smear Campaigns On Its War Against Terrorism

The Nigerian army has decried sections of the media for undertaking a smear campaign calculated to undermine the numerous achievements of the army.

The spokesman of the army, Brigadier General Olajide Laleye who made this known at a press briefing in Abuja said, the army has been under a deliberate effort by some individuals and organization to tarnish its image.
According to him, “this group and their international collaborators are trying hard to portray the Nigerian military as corrupt with myriad of problems and challenges ranging from morale of troops, equipment and troops welfare.” General Laleye added that, “the army as one of the binding forces of the unity of Nigeria is far from being weak and ineffective.”
He challenged that, “the Nigerian media has a role in this war. No country in the world diminishes its armed forces. The media in those countries uphold their national security first. It appears a section of our media and sympathizers of Boko Haram propagate the invincibility of the terrorists.”
“If a section of the media is used to discredit her armed forces, who will prosecute the war? There needs to be a change in the media handling of this war on terrorism,” General Laleye said. Commenting on the recent mutiny by soldiers in Borno state, he said, “Isolated cases which normally occur during operations such as the one in the northeast should not be taken as the norm.”
The army spokesman stated that, the army has performed creditable well in all operations assigned to it and has recorded outstanding performance in peacekeeping and internal security operations that is being celebrated by other armies and nations. General Layele boasted that the army is steadily reversing the ugly menace of terrorism and insurgency in parts of the country.
He further said, all troops pay and allowances are paid as at when due and including the month of May 2014, noting that if there are factual cases of corruption against the army such reports should be made available to the authorities.