Nigerian military clarifies presence of UN fighting vehicles in Edo

The Defence Headquarters has clarified that the UN Peacekeeping fighting vehicles and equipment sighted recently in Benin, Edo State, were meant for deployment for a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Tukur Gusau, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Gusau said circulation of the video of the said equipment on social media, had given rise to insinuations that were inimical to public peace which might cause panic.

He said Nigeria is currently contributing troops to various UN Peacekeeping operations; the most recent is United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), Southern Sudan.

“The Mission is commanded by a Nigerian, Ma.-Gen. Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr.

“It should be noted that the UN doesn’t have its own troops, rather it enters into agreements with troops contributing countries to provide their personnel and equipment for operations in its various missions.

“Therefore, it is imperative to state emphatically that the military fighting vehicles and equipment painted in UN colour as sighted are being moved through the Warri port for movement to the mission area in Southern Sudan.

“The Defence Headquarters under the leadership of Gen. Lucky Irabor, wish to assure Nigerians that our nation is not under any threat that will warrant the deployment of UN troops on our soil”, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a video clip titled, “tension as heavy military UN trucks arrive Nigeria”, surfaced on one BVI Youtube channel on Sunday.

The commentator was seen raising the alarm that something was cooking in the country that the government was not telling the citizens.