The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has refuted reports of killings and destruction of houses and other property by the military in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State in which 11 military personnel were allegedly murdered on April 8 by armed bandits.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, acting director of Defence Information.
In it, the DHQ stated that there was no massacre in Konshisha and that the stories making the rounds were fabricated by bandits and their sponsors to smear the military after murdering troops in cold blood.
“The Defence Headquarters wishes to state that soldiers deployed to Konshisha displayed commendable restraints by adhering to the rules of engagement in the face of unprovoked attacks and therefore deserve accolades,” the statement said.
DHQ demanded immediate return of all weapons carted away and that “that the local leaders of Konshisha must bring the main actors responsible for the mayhem to security forces to face justice.”
The DHQ said further: “They must also surrender all other weapons in their possession. The military will not tolerate the jungle justice attitude and dastardly acts leading to the gruesome murder of patriotic soldiers on legitimate duty to keep the peace.
“We look forward to working with the Benue State Government in its promise to support security forces in fishing out those fomenting trouble in Konshisha. Once again, there is no massacre in Konshisha and the stories making the rounds are fabricated by bandits and their sponsors to smear the military after murdering troops in cold blood.
“The Defence Headquarters wish to put it on record that apart from initial 10 bandits, there are no other civilian casualties recorded in any part of Konshisha till date. We, therefore, challenge anybody from Konshisha to present to the public the 200, 70 or 30 dead bodies of innocent persons, male, female or children killed by troops in Konshisha.
“There was never a massacre as being touted by some mischief makers.”