Relief came the
way of Nigeria’s embattled chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur
Buratai, as the federal government backed him concerning the acquisition of properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Buratai was accused of acquiring two properties in Dubai by corrupt means.
The minister of defence, Muhammad Mansur
Dan-Ali, said on Monday, June 27, 2016 that the army chief was
transparent about the properties as he declared them on more than one
occasion to both the Nigerian Army and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
“The ministry of defence has observed
with dismay the online media report of involvement of the chief of army
staff and his family over ownership of property in Dubai,” the minister
said in a statement signed by his principal general staff officer, Brig.
Gen. Mohammed Sani Ahmed.
“It is noteworthy that there has been
series of concerted efforts in the past by the same medium and its
cohorts to tarnish the image of the person of Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai for
the reason best known to them, which failed to achieve their desired
ulterior motives,” the statement said.
The minister accused “disgruntled and
unpatriotic elements” of deliberately releasing the report to tarnish
Buratai’s image so as to derail the counter-terrorism and
counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.
“The ministry of defence views this as
an attempt by some unpatriotic and disgruntled elements to distract the
leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces from the successes of the war
against terror particularly in the North East,” he added.
The minister said that “while
appreciating the role of the media in nation-building, it wishes to
equally advise the media to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in
the discharge of their duties, especially when it comes to security and
defence related matters.”
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