The Nigerian Army has said that reports circulating in social media that troops tortured one Christian Ehima to death in Edo are false and misleading.

Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, debunked the allegation in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.

Nwachukwu emphasised that the Nigerian army as a professional force had respected intensely the sanctity of human life and had zero tolerance for infringement on the rights of citizens.

While the Nigerian army sympathised with Ehima’s family, he thought it was imperative to set records right and correct wrong information.

He explained that evidence show that Ehima had strayed naked into a military checkpoint at Igbanke in Benin on Dec. 10, and was halted by soldiers on duty.

Nwachukwu said that when Ehima was questioned, he could not say anything of meaning as to where he were coming from or where he was headed. He was acting rather strange, like he was under some sort of influence.

The guard commander requested for the phone of the deceased, so as to contact his relations, friends or associates.

Army spokesperson explained that shortly after, a call came through to Ehima’s phone from a caller who identified herself as his mother. She was then invited to pick up her son, who was still very agitated and unstable.

According to him, the mother, on arriving at the scene, identified herself as a police officer and was briefed about her son’s observed abnormal behavior.

“On sighting his mother, his behaviour became aggravated.

“Thereafter, some passers-by were mobilised to help her take him to the hospital.

“In her conversation with the soldiers, she attributed her son’s weird behaviour to influence of alcohol, but soldiers present maintained that whatever was responsible for Ehima’s behaviour at that time was way beyond alcohol.

“It is also important to state that the incident was recorded both on video and audio, showing the behaviour of Christian Ehima and his mother commending the soldiers for their kind intervention.

“The evidence, including audio recordings of the police officer and her son are attached.

“Surprisingly, this unfortunate incident has been falsely reported in the social media without recourse to the reality of what transpired on the said date,’’ he stated.

Nwachukwu described the news circulating on social media as “misguided information’’. He urged the public to disregard such information, as it was clearly manipulative and an attempt to bring the Nigerian Army to disrepute.

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