RIVERS: Army warns UK to back off, denies allegation of interference in election

The Nigerian Army has denied the allegation made against it by the United Kingdom of interference of the military in the electoral process in Rivers State.

It also warned the UK to desist from interfering in the internal affairs of Nigeria.
The British High Commission in Nigeria had in a series of tweets on Monday raised worries over the report of military interference in the election in Rivers State.

The Army gave this warning on Monday through a statement by acting Director of Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa.

The statement titled, ‘Re: UK expresses concern over military involvement in Rivers poll’, describes the allegations by the British government as ”baseless.”

“Foreign interests are enjoined to be mindful of interfering in our national internal affairs especially when there is no credible evidence. Any allegation against the NA must be confirmed from appropriate quarters before jumping to conclusions,” the army said.

The statement added, “The NA wishes to state that the statement is totally baseless, untrue and therefore capable of misleading unsuspected members of the public, especially when there is no credible record of such involvement anywhere in Nigeria before, during and after the 2019 elections.

“The NA, as a responsible organisation, wishes to debunk such misrepresentation in order to set the record straight. Similarly, it is on record that the NA has been globally applauded by many individuals, foreign and local elections observers for its sacrifices/roles in creating an enabling environment for a secure, transparent and peaceful conduct of the elections.

”It said it would continue to remain neutral during and after the polls, adding that it was only providing assistance to civilian security agencies.”

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