Army to take ‘serious action’ as Methodist prelate accuses soldiers of aiding kidnappers

The Nigerian Army says it will take action over the allegation by Samuel Kanu, prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), that soldiers are aiding kidnappers.

TheCable had reported that Kanu was, on Sunday, abducted by gunmen along the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway in Umunneochi LGA of Abia state.

The prelate and two other clerics regained their freedom after reportedly paying N100 million ransom. 

Upon his release, Kanu, in an interview with journalists on Tuesday, accused soldiers of being complicit in the activities of kidnappers.

“I accuse the soldiers, who are non-Christians, some of them are Fulani. They are part of it, because they are shielding these men. They know where the boys are, they know the location,” he said.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Wednesday, Onyema Nwachukwu, director of army public relations, said the prelate and the church will need to provide more information on the allegation.

“The Nigerian Army (NA) has been notified of the insinuation making the rounds on social media, alleging complicity of troops of the Nigerian Army in the kidnap incident of the Methodist Prelate in Abia state recently,” the statement reads.

“While the Nigerian Army expresses concern and sympathy for the victim of this heinous crime and shares in his pains, the insinuation that troops are complicit in the kidnap incident is not entirely premised on any findings of investigations and therefore cannot be swallowed hook, line and sinker. This allegation therefore raises some pertinent questions which are still unanswered.

“Given the spate of insecurity in the region, the question would be, was the issue reported to the unit covering the area? Did the Methodist Church take the NA 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.”

Nwachukwu, who said the army did not receive any debrief from the prelate or the MCN, added that the alleged conduct of soldiers by the prelate is against the army’s code of conduct. 

“It is therefore important to state that troops are deployed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Okigwe and in front of the Abia State University Uturu and no information was made available to them or to the 14 Brigade or any other formation, except the information making the rounds in the social media,” he said.

“It must be clarified that troops’ deployment in the Nigerian Army is not done with considerations for ethnic affiliation, hence a deployment of troops of Fulani ethnic extraction who, as alleged by the Prelate,  carried out the dastardly act is not our practice or modus operandi in the NA.

“Given our professional disposition and zero tolerance for any misconduct in the Nigerian Army, we will take this weighty allegation seriously and approach the Prelate and the Methodist church to unravel the basis for the allegation.”