The Nigerian Army has refuted an allegation of confiscation
of community land for a proposed civil-military intervention project in Orolu
Community in Osun.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Army
Public Relations, Brig -Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to Nwachukwu, one Chief Babatunde Oyetunji, Eesa
of Ifon, had in a statement alleged that the Nigerian Army had decided to
forcefully acquire land for a proposed project in Orolu Community.
He said the allegations were entirely false, malicious and an
effort by some vested interests to tarnish the good reputation of the Chief of
Army Staff (COAS) and drag the name of the institution in the mud.
“The fact of the matter is that one of the lines of
operations of the Nigerian army in tackling security challenges in the
country is the Non-kinetic line of operations.
“It is a soft approach, aimed at winning the hearts and
minds of the public through the instrumentality of Civil-Military Cooperation
activities or programmes of the Nigerian Army.
“This effort, is fundamentally geared towards fostering
cooperation and galvanising support of the civil populace for army’s diverse
operations to mitigate security challenges across the country.
Hence, the Nigerian army usually executes special community
intervention projects, such as hospitals, boreholes, electrification
amongst others based on needs assessment, after consultations with the
leadership of such communities, at the behest of senior officers, who hail from
the benefiting community,” he said.
In this particular case, Nwachukwu said that a retired
senior officer conceptualised an intervention project; a medical centre in the
state.
He said the proposal had not even been formally forwarded to
the Chief of Army staff for approval, adding that the Department of
Civil-Military Affairs at the Army Headquarters was yet to receive requisite
information to enable it initiate a comprehensive proposal for the project.
He explained that the army would not have in any way known
which land belongs to who, since it was not yet involved in the process.
According to him, it is only when and if the request of the
retired senior officer is forwarded to the Chief of Army Staff and is approved,
that the Army can send a team to carry out due diligence on the project site
and carry along all stakeholders in the process.
“Surprisingly, if the said project for which the COAS
and the Nigerian army are being maligned sails through and is approved, it is a
project that will benefit the civil populace and serve humanity, irrespective of
community affiliation.
“The Nigerian Army hereby absolves itself of any involvement
in an attempt to confiscate any community land.
“The Nigerian Army is a professional and law abiding
institution that has always followed due process in all her intervention
projects, so far undertaken.
“Therefore, members of the public are enjoined to
discountenance the allegations and continue to support the Nigerian Army and
its Kinetic and None kinetic operations across the country,” Nwachukwu said.
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