The Nigerian Army says the accusation of extortion by Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, against soldiers, will not be taken lightly.

Governor Zulum had earlier in a video confronted soldiers manning Maiduguri-Damaturu expressway accusing them of extorting travelers.

In reaction to this, Nigerian Army Operations Media Coordinator, Aminu Iliyasu in a statement said as a professional and disciplined institution it will not take such allegations lightly, particularly coming from a state executive.

They assured that the allegation will be duly investigated and culprits will be dealt with accordingly.

“The Nigerian Army as a professional and disciplined institution views such allegations seriously, particularly coming from a State Executive.

“It is on record that, whenever such allegations of troops’ misconduct were made in the past, the Nigerian Army never reneged in conducting thorough investigations to establish them and where any infractions were established against any personnel, appropriate sanctions were applied in line with extant rules and regulations as provided for in the Armed Forces Act CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

“Thus, the Nigerian Army wishes to assure the good people of Borno State and indeed the nation at large that any allegations of misconduct by Nigerian Army troops will be duly investigated and culprits will be dealt with accordingly,” the statement read in part.

The Nigerian Army, however, pointed out that the outburst of the governor could be counterproductive in its fight against insurgency.

“However, it is important to unequivocally observe that public outburst, particularly by eminent personalities such as a State Executive, could be counterproductive and indeed capable of reversing the gains recorded so far in the ongoing fight against insurgents and other criminal elements across the nation,” the statement read further.

The Nigerian Army, therefore, assured citizens that it remains committed to the protection of lives, properties of all law-abiding citizens as it is committed to wiping out insurgency in the North East and other forms of criminality across the country.