… Gives Reuters a 14-day ultimatum to apologize to Nigeria or face legal action
The Military Writers Society of Nigeria (MWSN) has viewed with great dismay the subversive activities Reuters News Agency in Nigeria particularly in its report which alleged without proof, that the Armed Forces of Nigerian AFN has been carrying out infanticides since it began its counter-terrorism operations against the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast of the county.
Reuters had accused the Nigerian military of running a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country’s North East terminating at least 12,000 pregnancies among women and girls. That, many children were shot, poisoned, suffocated or run down by vehicles in army-led actions.
In a statement by its President, Lawrence Audu on Saturday, the group further noted that the report alleged that soldiers selected babies and toddlers for killing after rescuing them and their mothers from Islamist militants, amongst other weighty concocted allegations.
“The key motive for supposedly carrying out the abortions according to Reuters was allegedly the notion that the children of Islamist militants, because of the blood in their veins, would one day follow in their father’s footsteps and take up arms against the Nigerian state.
“This allegation is false, misleading and a ploy to tarnish the good image of the Nigerian military and Nigeria at large.
The Reuters team must have been schooled in, and have now become proponents of scorched-earth and inhuman policies employed by colonialists during the colonial era and during the battles for independence in Indi-China, Malaysia, Algeria and other places, where villages and crops were burnt. Children, women, elderly, the innocent were killed in systematic and inhuman programmes.”
Audu stated that Nigerians, and by extension Nigerian military, are not made in such wicked mold, and the Reuters team cannot appropriate the evil of infanticide to the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Nigerian people.
“Let us now spotlight the rescued Chibok girls who were kidnapped from their school by Boko Haram Terrorists in 2014. A total of 11 of the Chibok girls were rescued this year 2022. Hauwa Joseph with her child, Mary Dauda with her child, and Ruth Bitrus were rescued in June 2022. Troops also rescued Kauna Luka with her child and Hanatu Musa with her 2 children in July 2022. In the same vein, Aisha Grema with her 4-year-old child and Falmata Lawal were rescued in August 2022.
“Furthermore, Asabe Ali with her child, Jinkai Yama with her 3 children, Yana Pogu with her 4 children and Rejoice Senki with her 2 children were rescued in September and November this year. The names of the rescued girls are in Serials 18, 46, 41, 38, 7, 11, 3, 12, 20, 19 and 70 respectively (in the order of rescue) in the list of the abducted Chibok School girls. The rescued girls were handed over to the Borno State government after their rescue.” He added.
It is worthy to note that a visit to the Rehabilitation Centre accommodating the Chibok girls on 29 November 2022 revealed that, there were 2 other Chibok girls (with their children) recued earlier, making the number of the Chibok girls in the Centre to be 13. Other residents in the facility were children who were rescued by troops unaccompanied (by any adult) or who separated from their parents/relatives due to fog of war. The welfare of the Chibok girls with their children and the unaccompanied children, is a major priority of the Borno State Government.
UNICEF is assisting the Centre in tracing the relatives of the Chibok girls as well as those of the unaccompanied/separated children to facilitate reintegration with their communities.
“If there was any evil, illegal programme to systematically kill the children of Boko Haram terrorists, then the children that the terrorists begat through the Chibok girls would have been prime targets.
“Reuters has never reported the giant stride of the Nigerian military winning war against insurgency in Nigeria but is quick to reports fake news against the military.
“The Reuters’ series of stories are akin to telling the world that Nigerians still live on top of trees. It now seems that the new stock in trade for Reuters is, ‘mining’ and selling lies to demonize Nigerian military, Nigerian institutions and Nigerian leaderships. This new vocation of Reuters is worse than illegal arms trade, worse than hard-drug trafficking, and actually worse than terrorism.
“The so-called Reuters’ News Editor for Sub-Saharan Africa, Alexandra Zavis, should better retrace her steps, before the founder, Paul Julius Reuter, starts to regret the demonic journalism being practiced by the journalists that he left behind!
“The MWSN is appalled that Reuters is coming out first this set of blackmail just when the guns have become silent in most theatres of operation with the defeat and decimation of terror in most parts of the country suggesting that Reuters may have something up its sleeves as it benefits from the chaos around the world. Reuters and its co-travelers must be told that Nigerians are more aware now than ever about their antics and ready to defend their sovereignty at all cost.” He said.
MWSN therefore called on the federal government of Nigeria to checkmate the international news agency for trying to frustrate the efforts of the military in combating insurgency and other criminal activities in the country.
“We also call on Reuters to retract that fictitious report which remains a figment of their imagination within 14 days after which a legal action would be instituted for tarnishing the image of the Nigerian military.”