By Sadiq Abubakar
Maiduguri
Normal military procedures have been instituted by the Nigerian Army to forestall a repeat of the Maiduguri incident where protesting soldiers opened fire on their GOC on Wednesday over the death of their colleagues, the Director, Defence Information, Maj.- Gen. Chris Olukolade, has said.
Olukolade told journalists at a press briefing yesterday in Maiduguri that the Wednesday incident did not affect the morale of soldiers and officers in the on-going counter-insurgency operation, adding that military authorities had put in place normal procedure to deal with the situation.
He said: “Normalcy has returned, all operations will continue. The normal procedures in the military have been put in place to ensure that a similar incident does not occur again.”
However, the director of defence information said the incident was “highly reported,” and urged journalists to exercise caution in the reportage of such military affairs.
“We should down-play the level of sensationalism in our reportage,” he counselled.
He maintained that the GOC was not shot by the protesting soldiers as rumoured, adding that he had gone to the barracks after the evacuation of the remains of the slain soldiers at the scene of the Boko Haram attack to the morgue.
He disclosed that the redeployment of the GOC would not affect the psyche of men and officers of the 7 Division as well as the counter-insurgency operation.
