The Nigerian Army has denied report that one of its former officer, a retired Lieutenant Colonel was arrested in Yobe in an encounter with members of the Boko Haram in the state.
The denial contained in a statement issued by Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, the spokesman of the army on Monday in Abuja, said that “Contrary to the newspaper report, no retired Lieutenant Colonel was ever arrested in any encounter with the Boko Haram insurgents anywhere.
“The Nigerian Army wishes to state categorically that the report was a figment of imagination concocted by some fifth columnists within the media that are desperate to malign the army,’’ it said.
The statement said that the denial was borne out of the fact that the report had the tendency to mislead well meaning Nigerians and the public.
It recalled that the report claimed the Boko Haram attack took place on Oct. 24 and that it was led by the retired officer.