DHQ Denies Alleged Maltreatment Of Women In Plateau

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has refuted a viral video showing soldiers allegedly mistreating women.

Naija News reports that a video surfaced on social media on Saturday with the caption: “Operation Rainbow in Plateau State”, depicting soldiers allegedly mistreating women.

But in a statement on Saturday, the Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau described the video as false and misleading.

Gusau stated that the video in question did not originate from Plateau State as falsely claimed, adding that the video was shared online to ridicule the Nigerian military.

He said the video was from an incident that took place in Sambisa forest in 2021, involving the spouses of Boko Haram members during the capture of strongholds of the Boko Haram insurgents.

The Defence spokesman added that the soldiers involved in the incident were promptly sanctioned and dealt with by the military authority at the time it occurred for their unprofessional conduct.

Gusau said the dissemination of the old video with a misleading location tag, was to cause an unnecessary alarm and has the potential to exacerbate the security situation on the Plateau.

He said the DHQ remains committed to fostering peace and stability in Plateau and called on stakeholders and members of the public to stop spreading misinformation that could undermine the collective goal of ensuring the safety and well-being of the residents.