Soldier not detained for religious affiliation, says Army

The Nigerian Army has refuted claims circulating on social media that Lance Corporal Musa Adamu, a soldier in its ranks, is being held in custody due to his religious affiliation.

The army in a statement, said Adamu was in custody for violating certain provisions of the Armed Forces Act, not for converting from Islam to Christianity and preaching the gospel.

It labelled the allegations published online as a misrepresentation and an outrageous falsehood with religious bigotry, tarnishing the reputation of the Nigerian Army.

According to the official statement from the Nigerian Army, Lance Corporal Musa Adamu was attached to the 63 Brigade to participate in an ongoing operation when he was found preaching in uniform on a social media platform, which is a clear violation of the extant Social Media policy for the Armed Forces of Nigeria. This prompted his invitation for interrogation by relevant authorities.

However, instead of presenting himself for the investigation, Lance Corporal Musa Adamu absconded for approximately six and a half months, resulting in the declaration of his status as “Absence Without Official Leave” (AWOL).

The army said that this action is a breach of Section 58 (a) (b) “Obstruction of Provost Officers” and Section 59 (a) (b) “Absence Without Leave” of the Armed Forces Act.

The statement said: “It must be clarified, that once a personnel is absent from his unit for 7 days without any justification, he will be declared on AWOL. This automatically triggers the freezing of his salary account, until the personnel returns to unit and is arraigned and sanctioned.

“It is equally important to state that contrary to the erroneous impression that the soldier is being victimized for converting from Islam to Christianity and for preaching the gospel, the soldier was rather taken into custody for investigation and in pursuant of  statutory provisions enshrined in the Armed Forces Act CAP 20: The Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, which the soldier contravened. His detention is therefore not unlawful.

“It is expedient to point out, that each and every personnel of the  NA functions under a Corps or Department with stipulated statutory responsibilities manned by qualified personnel trained to effectively execute those duties. Hence, religious affairs of the NA are handled  by designated clergies in the Directorates of Chaplain Services (Protestant), (Roman Catholic) and Islamic Affairs. Personnel of these Directorates are the ones mandated to conduct all religious activities to cater for the spiritual needs of all personnel of the NA, both in the theatres of operations and within the barracks.

“The question begging for answer is, if the NA allowed the soldier to change his religion, why then would the NA victimize him? It is ironical therefore, that an institution that promotes the spiritual wellbeing of its personnel is alleged to have detained the soldier for the expression of his faith, even when it is abundantly clear that he has the opportunity to also change his Corps to any of the Army’s Chaplaincy.

“The NA will not be hesitant to state that it is guided by ethics, traditions and military laws, which direct personnel on their conducts.  Violation of these ideals and statutory stipulations evoke sanctions, irrespective of the faith of the offender.

“Consequently, the NA denounces the libelous publication capable of causing disaffection amongst personnel as well as bringing disrepute and distractions to the NA from its trajectory of discharging its constitutional mandate to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria, particularly at this crucial time that it is turning the tide against insurgents and other criminal elements across the country.”