Nigerian Army urges citizens to stop sharing pictures of slain personnel on social media

The Nigerian Army has appealed to Nigerians who share on social media graphic pictures of personnel killed in the cause of defending and protecting the country from its adversaries.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, made the plea in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

He described the sharing of such images as unpatriotic, insensitive and utterly reprehensible.

He said the officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army deployed to various theatres of internal security operations were on legitimate duties.

The army spokesperson said the troops put their lives on the line to ensure that innocent citizens and state institutions were protected from violent criminals.

He also questioned the glee with which some people shared the gory pictures of officers and soldiers who were either killed or wounded in action in the media.

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Yerima said: “These unpatriotic acts are often done without any modicum of consideration for the memories of the departed personnel or their family members.

“In some cases, their loved ones do find out about their unfortunate death in such a callous manner before they are even contacted by the military authorities.

“One can only imagine the trauma and pain such families go through waking up to see the gory pictures of their loved ones splashed on social media.

“The Nigerian Army considers this despicable and unpatriotic act totally unacceptable and will henceforth take legal actions to protect troops who die in action from being ridiculed on social media or any platform.”

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