The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has denied plans to forcefully recruit Nigerians from the age of 18 years into the armed forces against their will.
A release by the Director Defence Information (DDI), Brig.-Gen. Samaila Uba, clarified that a video in circulation, which attributed the statement to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, was not only fake but cloned.
Uba said the fake and malicious video attributed to the CDS suggested an intent by the military to forcefully recruit young Nigerians from the age of 18 years into the military against their will.
“The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to the circulation of a fake video depicting a mischievously cloned image of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede.
“In the fake video, a malicious statement was attributed to him about the intent of the military to forcefully recruit young Nigerians from the age of 18 years into the military against their will.”
He maintained that the military remains a noble profession, with thousands of patriotic Nigerians ever ready to willingly join its ranks, as attested to during various recruitment exercises into the three arms of the Nigerian military—the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Navy.
Uba said the fake statement and video were clearly intended to defame the character of the Chief of Defence Staff and were capable of portraying the military in a bad light.
“The military remains a noble profession, with thousands of patriotic Nigerians ever ready to willingly join its ranks, as attested to during various recruitment exercises into the three arms of the Nigerian military.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let it be on record that the purported statement was never made by the Chief of Defence Staff, any of the Service Chiefs, or indeed by any member of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” he said.
“In this age of Artificial Intelligence, disinformation and malinformation, it is important that care is taken by all to avoid the creation and sharing of fake statements and videos without clearly verifying their source and authenticity,” he added.
Uba stated that all statements and releases from the Chief of Defence Staff are sourced from verified Defence Headquarters designated spokespersons and their official social media handles.
“All are kindly requested to disregard the fake video and statement in circulation,” he said.
