KADUNA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanised Division, Maj.-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade, has said the Army has no apology for soldiers’ encounter with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, known as the Shi’ite sect.
The GOC said the Army could not fold its arms and watch any group or sect threaten the country’s peace and stability.
Addressing reporters at the Headquarters of 1 Division in Kaduna, yesterday, the GOC said the Army had no issue with the Shi’ites.
Maj.-Gen. Oyebade said some military personnel were Shi’ites by religious calling and added that they respect and obey constituted authority.
He said: “The Army has paid heavily with the blood of its officers and men to protect this country and so we have no apology to any group, either Shiite Islamic sect and Christian sect, even pagan sect that is threatening the peace of the country.
We don’t have any issue with the Shiites or any sect in the land as long as they obey the laws of the land.
“But if any group tends to challenge the constituted authority of the land, it means that such group does not respect the constitution.
“Even in the military, we have Shiites members, but there is no issue with them because they are law-abiding citizens.
“But we have issues with those who create a state within a state, and our rules of engagement are clear – that is, when there is threat to a constituted authority, it must be arrested before it goes full-blown.
“We know the business of violence, but we apply it professionally, if the peace of the land is being threatened. So, we are appealing to Nigerians who are bent on causing violence to stay off.
“We have problems with those who choose to challenge the authority of the state and create a state within a state, who do not recognise the laws of the land.”
The GOC, however, insisted that the Army remained the guidance of Nigerian democracy.
He emphasised that an attempt on the nation’s chief of Army staff was akin to an attempt on the President.
Giving an overview of the activities of the division in 2015, the GOC said: “We want to reassure members of the Northwest Zone that the army will do everything possible as mandated by the Constitution to protect our people and enable the people go about their activities without molestation.”
Credit: The Nation (Nigeria)
