The Nigerian Army has refuted a video currently circulating on various social media platforms, purporting to show the arrest of a foreign arms dealer, Shehu Ali Kachalla, as a recent development linked to Nigerian Army operations in Zamfara State
A Statement by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Appolonia Anele notes that the said video is not recent, and to set the records straight, the individual featured in the footage, Shehu Ali Kachalla, a 30-year-old Nigerien national, was arrested by the Zamfara State Police Command on May 14, 2021 in a Joint intelligence-led operation involving operatives of the Federal Intelligence Bureau (FIB) and the Special Tactical Squad (STS) of the Nigeria Police Force.
The statement added that the suspect confessed to have illegally supplied over 450 rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition to criminal elements across Zamfara, Kaduna, and Niger States.
The Army spokesperson stated that the resurgence of the old video on social media is therefore, at best, aimed at misinforming the public, while undermining the ongoing counter-terrorism and anti-banditry efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
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The Army authorities said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy for unprofessional conducts, and where there are proven cases of such involving its personnel, appropriate disciplinary actions are always taken in line with the Armed Forces Act and other extant Military regulations. It emphasised that while the suspect in the 2021 case alleged collusion by an unnamed security personnel, no Nigerian Army personnel was indicted or arrested in connection with the matter.
The Army urge the general public to disregard the recirculated video as outdated and misleading, while advising content creators and social media influencers to verify the authenticity and date of materials before sharing same in order to avoid causing unnecessary panic or confusion in the society.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
