By Festus Fifen.

The Nigeria Defence Headquarters has reacted to a story published in one of the National Daily where it was alleged that soldiers attached to the Special Task Force (STF), Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH), killed 4 members of Gwafan village in Jos North local Government Area of Plateau state and dumped their bodies in surrounding Dams in the area during an attempt to stop hoodlums from looting the residence of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara.

In a Statement Signed by Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, who described the story as fake news said ” For the records, on Sunday 25 October 2020, hoodlums and vandals invaded the private property of the former Speaker at Lamingo, with a view to looting it. Consequently, troops of the STF, OPSH, which is saddled with the responsibility of maintaining peace and tranquility in Plateau State and environs, were immediately deployed to bring the situation under control.

“Guided by extant Rules of Engagement and Standing Operating Procedures for such situations, the highly professional troops arrived at the residence and apprehended a total number of 30 looters. Additionally, a total of 114 hoodlums comprising 21 females and 93 males were apprehended for looting. Recall that Headquarters Operation SAFE HAVEN paraded the suspects before the press, and this was widely reported in various main stream and online media.

” It is worthy to mention that the timely intervention of our troops at the residence of the former Speaker ensured that the situation was nipped in the bud. Thus, the story is a malicious and mischievous publication against the Nigerian Military and Operation SAFE HAVEN in particular, that has commendably fostered peace in Plateau State. It is also worthy of mention that on 26 October 2020, 41 suspected hoodlums comprising 6 females and 35 males were arrested and thereafter released after profiling. One therefore wonders where there was shooting for a situation that was managed professionally to bring the situation under control.”

General Enenche added that is is always better for Media organizations to verify their facts before rushing to publish untrue and unverified stories.