The Nigerian Army has dismissed insinuations that its officers participated in the looting of several stores in Kano during the first day of the #EndBadGovernance protests.
A video circulating online had demonstrators and some soldiers appearing to be caring away goods, but the Director of Army Public Relations Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said in a statement that the soldiers were there to restore normalcy contrary to the misconception portrayed in the video.
The statement said the troops intercepted some of the hoodlums and recovered some of the looted items, which they were conveying back to the Store, when another distress call of a planned attack on the Kano State Government House was received.
“Considering the urgency of the imminent attack, the troops immediately diverted to respond to the distress call in order to protect the Government House from the hoodlums’ attack.
“It was in the course of the response to distress call about possible attack on Kano Government House, that the video was shot.
“The fluidity and urgency of the distress call explain why troops in the video were not overly bothered when some hoodlums even stole from the troops’ truck while in motion. At that juncture, preventing the attack on the Government House was more expedient,” the statement added.
According to the statement, the troops eventually moved the recovered gallons of cooking oil and other items back to the Store, where they were safely handed-over to the rightful owner.
“The management of Barakat Stores has acknowledged and appreciated the effort of the troops and their professional conduct in a letter conveyed by the organization’s General Manager.”
