The Nigerian Army has instituted a legal action against an online publication, Premium Times over its failure to retract and apologize over what it called “false, subversive and malicious publications” against the person of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai and the Nigerian Army.
The letter, dated December 22, 2016, and signed by I.M Alkali, a major general, on behalf of Mr. Buratai, accused the paper of publishing reports without reference to the army, adding that its stories exposed a “deep hatred for the leadership of the Nigerian Army.”
The letter expressed displeasure with three stories published by the medium between October and December last year.
According to Premium Times, the reports were those on the planned invitation of Mr. Buratai by the Code of Conduct Bureau for asset verification, the disappearance of a high number of soldiers after a Boko Haram attack and an investigation detailing how soldiers allegedly killed a kidnapped pastor and labeled him a kidnapper.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Usman, said that all efforts to make the medium make amend proved abortive.
Consequently, the Nigerian Army sent a letter to the management of the online publishers to retract and apologize before December 31, 2016.
The medium, however, remained adamant and recalcitrant.
Consequently, the Nigerian Army has briefed its lawyers to institute legal action against the medium.
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