ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Nigerian Army has denied detaining one of its personnel, Lance Corporal Musa Adamu, on religious grounds.
A widely-circulated social media report states that, Adamu was detained for converting from Islam to Christianity and preaching the gospel.
Reacting to the development, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigade General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the soldier was in custody for violation of some provisions of the Armed Forces Act.
“Contrary to reports being circulated in the social media that personnel of the Nigerian Army, Lance Corporal Musa Adamu is in detention for converting to Christianity, the reality is that the soldier is in custody for violation of some provisions of the Armed Forces Act.
“The report is not only a misrepresentation of the true situation but an outrageous falsehood tainted with religious bigotry, peddled against the Nigerian Army.
“This is a professional institution guided by well-established ethics and tradition in all its activities and personnel administration,” he said.
Stating the reason for the soldier’s detention, he said: “To set the records straight, Lance Corporal Musa Adamu, personnel of the Amphibious Training School was attached to 63 Brigade to participate in an ongoing operation, during which he was found preaching in uniform on a social media platform in violation of the extant Social Media policy for the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“This prompted his invitation to the relevant authorities. Rather than appear for the investigation, he absconded for about six and a half months.
“This resulted in the soldier being placed on Absence Without Official Leave. The personnel’s action violates Section 58 (a) (b) Obstruction of Provost Officers and Section 59 (a) (b) Absence Without Leave.”