The Nigeria military has dismissed a viral viral purportedly showing the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, making partisan political statements.
Naija News reports that the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) debunked the video in a statement issued on its X handle on Thursday.
According to the statement, the DHQ described the video as fabricated and said it did not originate from the CDS.
It stated unequivocally that the video is fake and did not emanate from the Chief of Defence Staff.
While urging members of the public to disregard them, the DHQ added: “The statements attributed to the CDS in the video are false and should be completely disregarded.”
It said rhe video was produced through artificial intelligence-generated manipulation and was apparently designed to mislead the public and misrepresent the position of the Chief of Defence Staff.
“The video is a product of Artificial Intelligence-generated manipulation, apparently designed to deceive and mislead the public, misrepresent the position of the Chief of Defence Staff and bring the Armed Forces of Nigeria into disrepute,” the statement said.
Reaffirming its non-partisan position, the military said that the Armed Forces remains committed to its constitutional responsibilities.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Armed Forces of Nigeria remains a professional, apolitical and non-partisan institution, committed to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the defence of the nation,” it said.
“The Defence Headquarters strongly condemns the deliberate creation and circulation of the fake video and warns those behind such acts, as well as persons knowingly amplifying the material, to desist forthwith,” the statement said.
The military urged Nigerians to rely only on information released through its official communication channels and to disregard the circulating video.
