Nigerian Army Denies Purported Second Mutiny In Maimalari Barracks

Director, Defence Information in the Army, Major-General Chris Olukolade, in a press statement on Friday said “the online report titled ‘Second Mutiny in Maimalari Barracks as Soldiers Manhandled Commander’ is not true.”

The Nigerian Military has been under fire in recent times for a seeming incapability to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end.

A media platform online had reported a second mutiny in Maimalari Barracks, but according to Olukolade, “what the online outlet garnished and dubbed as ‘mutiny’ was just a presentation of complaints by representatives of personnel families who wanted the ban on motorcycles as a means of public transportation in the barracks reversed.”

The statement further read that “soldiers were not involved and there was no single shot fired by soldiers throughout the period as claimed in the report.”

The Major-General explained that the ban was part of security measures put in place for the safety of the soldiers and their families.  “The Acting General Officer Commanding obliged their request and directed a suspension of the ban pending when the planned alternative transportation arrangement is put in place.  He was not insulted or manhandled as reported.”

“The imputation of mutiny was concocted by the online medium ostensibly to raise false alarm and create the impression of disquiet in the military.  It is very obvious that a section of the media is feasting on the current security challenges and is desperate to sustain the tempo of the crisis through sensational reportage.  Mutiny is a very grievous breach that attracts severe sanctions in the military and should not be trivialized by those who do not understand its ramifications.”

“The general public is therefore requested to discountenance the rumours as no such incident took place. The mass media is again requested to beware of lifting stories on the military from online media as this has become the main channel of disseminating falsehood on happenings in the system.”

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