From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has denied the alleged attack by soldiers on Ehamufu Isi-Uzo village in Enugu State.
Gunmen in military uniform allegedly attacked the village on Monday, killing several villagers, maimed several others and burnt their houses.
But the DHQ, in a swift reaction, said soldiers were not trained to carry out such barbaric acts and vowed to fish out those behind the brutal act and bring them to justice.
Director, Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, made the disclosure at a news briefing on the update of military operations conducted in the country in the last three weeks.
Gen. Akpor, while noting that it was no longer news that criminals had resorted to wearing military and other security agencies’ uniforms to carry out their heinous activities, said the military and the security agencies have recovered several of such uniforms and weapons from the criminals.
The DDI, who was responding to journalists’ questions on the attack, said the military, which is solely responsible for protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity and her citizens from external attack, cannot be the same military to kill her citizens who they are meant to protect.
He said for some time now, the military and the security agencies had made huge recoveries of uniforms and weapons from criminal gangs who were not authorised to have them.
Speaking on the attack, Gen Akpo, said: “From the brief you got, you know so well what the armed forces and other security agencies are doing to keep the environment safe. And the same people, who are doing so much to keep the environment safe, cannot turn around and attack the people that they are supposed to protect. So that said, the story cannot be true that military men carried out an attack on Ehamufu Isi-Uzo village.
“The issue of our accoutrements and our uniforms being in the hands of criminals is what we deal with everyday, and we will not shy away from our responsibility to do our uttermost to remove articles of violence from the hands of those who are not authorised to carry them, the criminals.
“And you saw from the brief how many weapons have been seized or that were captured from bandits, terrorists across the country, and the more we seize and capture weapons from criminals, the more we keep the environment safe.
“So, for those who may have attacked Ehamufu Isi-Uzo village, definitely the security men in the South East are not sleeping, they will be fished out and dealt with.”
To ensure a crisis-free Christmas and New year celebrations, the defence spokesman said the military, in conjunction with the various security agencies, are working round the clock, “so that we can have a very peaceful holiday season.”