Army denies capture of armoured vehicle by bandit kingpin

The Nigerian Army on Thursday denied that bandit kingpin, Turji Bello, captured one of its Armoured Personnel Carriers.

The army was reacting to a viral video on social media showing that the bandit leader captured an APC purportedly belonging to the Nigerian Army.

In a statement on Thursday,  the Director Army Public Relations,  Brig.  General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the video was fabricated.

The statement partly read,  “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a viral unsubstantiated and apparently fabricated video clip circulating on the social media, portraying stage-managed capture of Nigerian Army Armoured Personnel Carrier by Turji Bello, one of the infamous terrorists’ leaders in North West Nigeria.

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“The Army wishes to emphatically state that there was no such incident that involved the capture of any of its APCs within the theatre of operations in the North-West, as mischievously and falsely portrayed in the video. ”

He said the analysis of the video done by the service showed it was doctored.

“Analysis of the video clip reveals that the video was doctored, as NA vehicles including APCs have NA inscribed on the number plates, which is conspicuously missing on the reportedly captured APC in the video.

“Additionally, on our record, the entire events captured in the footage were not an occurrence that took place at any point in time within the shores of Nigeria, rather available data point to it as an event that occurred in Burkina Faso sometime in 2021. Further investigation showed that the same video was posted on Facebook on 9 November 2021 with the URL https://web.facebook.com/watch/?v=1544154362616622, ” the statement added.

He also said the Army safeguards its equipment with a high level of professionalism, urging the public to disregard the video.

Onyema said, “Furthermore the NA maintains a high level of vigilance and professionalism in safeguarding its own armoured vehicles by ensuring that they are not compromised by any criminal element,  the statement added.

“The NA therefore urges the public to be wary of misinformation and propaganda employed by the insurgents, aimed at precipitating fear and disrupting the peace and security of our nation.