From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri
Normal military procedures have been instituted by the Nigerian Army to forestall a repeat of Maiduguri incident where protesting soldiers fired into the air last Wednesday over the death of their colleagues.
Director, Defence Information, (DDI) Major-General Chris Olukolade said this yesterday, while briefing newsmen at the Maimalari Military Cantonment in Maiduguri.
According to Olukolade, Wednesday’s incident did not affect the morale of soldiers and officers in the on-going counter-insurgency operation, adding that the military authority have put in place normal procedure to deal with the situation.
“Normacy has returned; all operations continue. The normal procedures in the military has been put in place to ensure similar incident do not occur again,” he told journalists.
However, the DDI said the incident was “highly reported,” urging journalists to exercise caution in the reportage of such military affairs.
“We should down-play the level of sensationalism in our reportage,” he counselled.
He maintained the GOC was not shot by the protesting soldiers as rumoured, adding that he had gone to the barrack after the evacuation of the remains of the slain soldiers at the scene of the Boko Haram attack to the morgue.
He disclosed that the change of the GOC would not affect the psyche of men and officers of the 7 Division as well as the counter-insurgency operation. “A successor will soon come but for now, there is an acting GOC in the division,” he added.
