Nigerian Army Distances Self From Alleged Confiscation of Community Land for Civil-Military Cooperation Projects in Osun

Nigerian Army Distances Self From Alleged Confiscation of Community Land for Civil-Military Cooperation Projects in Osun

The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said it has absolved itself of any involvement in an attempt to confiscate any community land for a proposed project in Orolu Community of Orolu Local Govt of Osun State.

Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu disclosed this in a press statement saying the allegations by one Chief Babatunde Oyetunji, Eesa of Ifon levelled against the Nigerian Army (NA) are 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.

General Nwachukwu affirmed that the Nigerian Army is a professional and law-abiding institution that has always followed due process in all her intervention projects, so far undertaken. 

He explained that 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; 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. 

He said this effort, is fundamentally geared towards fostering cooperation and galvanising support of the civil populace for NA’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.

“In this particular case, a retired senior officer conceptualized an intervention project; a medical centre in Osun state, which has not even been formally forwarded to the Chief of Army staff for approval, since the Department of Civil-Military Affairs at the Army Headquarters is yet to receive requisite information to enable it to initiate a comprehensive proposal for the project. 

“The Army would not have in any way known which land belongs to whom since it is not yet involved in the process.

“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,” he explained.

General Nwachukwu noted that 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.

He enjoined members of the public to discount the allegations and continue to support the Nigerian Army and its Kinetic and Non-kinetic operations across the country.