By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky E.O. Irabor, has advised those
running illegal refineries in Nigeria especially in the Niger Delta region to rather embrace modular refinery if they must continue in that line of trade.
This is even as he has described the
Reuters News Agency abortion report as ‘outright nonsense’, adding that he will not dignify them by commenting on what he called a false allegations against the Nigerian military.
He also said that the Nigeria military is gradually but steadily winning the fight against insurgency, terrorism and banditry just as it has employed several strategies including kinetic and non-Kinetic measures (winning minds and hearts) to make the country safe for the citizens.
General Irabor who spoke at the 61st Session of the State House Briefing organised by the State House Media Team in Abuja on Thursday said the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) which he leads has been discharging its constitutional duties to the best of its ability.
The CDS who during the briefing provided key updates and strides being made by the military in the fight against insurgency, terrorism and banditry told State House Correspondents that the military has done a good job in the circumstances it found itself.
He reeled out the achievements of the military to include the degrading and pushing out of the Boko Haram elements in the North East, Banditry in North West and Agitators cum Secessionists in the South East and South West.
General Irabor said the fight has been taken to the oil thieves and illegal refiners in the South South, pointing out that the military in collaboration with other security agencies have destroyed many illegal refineries and arrested oil thieves too.
He therefore advised those engaged in setting up illegal refineries to rather embrace Modular Refinery as the federal government has liberalized the business.
The CDS asked them to apply to the government instead of engaging in the pollution of the environment.
Meanwhile, General Irabor at the briefing denied reports of a forced abortion campaign involving at least 10,000 pregnancies of women and girls in the country’s North-East region, saying “It’s outright nonsense…it’s not true”.
In an investigative report published on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, London-based news agency, Reuters, asserted that “Since at least 2013, the Nigerian military has conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country’s North-East, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls.
According to the report, many of the women involved in the programme had been kidnapped and raped by terrorists of the Boko Haram extraction.
Citing witnesses accounts, Reuters said resisters were “beaten, held at gunpoint or drugged into compliance”
But fielding a question on the issue, Irabor said:, “That is outright nonsense. Their allusion is news to me. It never occurred. I never saw anything like that from Maiduguri down to Maimalamari Cantonment where I lived that is a major hospital for our personnel and their family. I am disappointed to say the least. So it is not true.
“I was informed by the Director of Defense Information about a mail from Reuters requesting an interview with me. And he gave me a letter written by one Alexander making allegations that have now been published by Reuters.
“I simply said he should go back to the person and answer their questions but I’m not going to dignify such a report.
“You’re saying the military since 2013 has been engaged in a planned abortion programme and he said that is part of the government’s design. In that letter, he said that 12,000 abortions have been conducted. But in the published report, we saw ‘at least 10,000’.”
