Nigerian Army has debunked the reports going round on social media reports as regards its alleged involvement in the recent kidnap of the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Samuel Kanu-Uche.
Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
It should be recalled that Kanu-Uche was abducted on Sunday along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State while on his way to the airport.
He was kidnapped alongside the Bishop of Owerri, Rt. Rev. Dennis Mark and the Prelate’s Chaplain and they were released on Monday, May 30.
Nwachukwu explained that the insinuation that troops were complicit in the kidnap incident could be swallowed hook line and sinker as it was not premised on any findings of investigations.
Also Read: Abducted Methodist Prelate Reveals N100m Ransom Was Paid For His Release
He posited that the allegations have birthed some questions which were yet to be answered.
Nwachukwu demanded to know whether the issue was reported to the unit covering the area.
Did the Methodist Church take the NIgerian Army into confidence while negotiating the ransom with the kidnappers? No formal complaint has been received by the unit.
More worrisome is the fact that it was alleged that the ransom was paid in less than 24 hours.
Was the ransom paid to troops? These are questions that beg for answers, he stated.
He stressed:
Given our professional disposition and zero tolerance for any misconduct in the Nigerian Army, we will take this weighty allegation seriously. We will approach the Prelate and the Methodist church to unravel the basis for the allegation.
Nwachukwu claimed that the Nigerian army unit had not received any debrief from the Prelate or the Methodist Church.
He disclosed that troops were deployed at Forward Operating Base(FOB) Okigwe and in front of the Abia State University, Uturu.
The public relations officer stressed that no information was made available to them or to 14 Brigade or any other formation, except the information making the rounds in the social media.
Via NAN
