The Defence Headquatres on Monday in Abuja warned Nigerians against unguarded utterances that were capable of undermining the nation’s security saying such lies were unnecessary given the country’s present situation.
The DHQ specifically warned a delegate from Zamfara State and member of the National Conference Committee on National Security, Brig. General Mansur Dan-Ali to stop telling lies against the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The DHQ also regretted that the people who were supposed to be telling the truth was the same people spreading false information about recent developments in the Armed Forces.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, represented by Assistant Director (Legal Services), Colonel Godwin Anyalemechi, stated these in his response to the memorandum by Dan-Ali on alleged maladministration, corruption, discriminatory legal reviews, illegal detention/extra-judicial trials and counter-terrorism measures in the Armed Forces submitted to the Confab sub-committee on Defense Infrastructures.
The CDS said that although the confab committee called for memorandum from the public, he queried “whether it is appropriate for a conference delegate, to submit a memorandum on a subject which he may ultimately preside over. This is against the backdrop of the legal principle that a man should not be a judge in his own case.”
He said, “The insinuations in the memorandum that the counter-terrorism measures adopted by the Armed Forces have failed, casts aspersion on the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the political leadership of the nation. This is regrettable, especially coming from a source that is in a better position appreciate the complexity of asymmetric warfare.
“it is hoped that highly placed individuals would refrain from making inflammatory statements that are likely to undermine morale in the Armed Forces of Nigeria and jeopardize ongoing military operations.
“The allegations of maladministration in the Armed Forces as contained in the memorandum have far-reaching implications on the general administrations of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and by extension, national security.
“This is particularly worrisome as non-specific examples were given in the Memorandum to substantiate the allegations and claims by the author. It is instructive that the Armed Forces Act, the Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service as well as other internal regulations of the respective services, contain adequate provisions and guidelines on the general administration and discipline of the Armed Forces.”
According to him, the Armed Forces have over the years endeavored to adhere strictly to the provisions.
“This accounts for the cohesion and unity of purpose that define the corporate existence of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. The perceived failure as alluded to in the memorandum by the author is capable of undermining the corporate existence of the country. This should not be allowed to happen.”
The DHQ also dissociated itself from any imagined friction between the Minister of Defense, Chief of Defense Staff and Service Chiefs adding that the Armed Forces Act has clearly defined their functions and assigned responsibilities. With respect to the general administration.
“Indeed, the total subordination of the military to civil authority is not an issue that should be belabored”, Anyalemechi stated.
He said that the Defence Headquarters doesn’t want to join issues with Dan-Ali, whose memorandum “contains several generalizations and unsubstantiated allegations.”
In his reaction, a former Inspector-General of Police and chairman of the confab committee on security, Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, said “the matters being addressed are outside the mandate of the committee, it was just a memorandum and we are not here to interrogate anybody.”
The author of the memorandum, Dan-Ali, also told journalists that he was “satisfied with the explanation.”
Source: Punch
