From: Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The New Initiative for Credible Leadership (NICREL) has called on the Nigerian Army to carry out thorough investigation into the allegations that it is injecting students and pupils with killer vaccines and bring those behind the fake news to justice.
The group which described the rumours as false said the situation has brought untold distress to children and their parents alike as they usually find out that they have panicked over nothing.
NICREL’s Executive Secretary, Rev. Steven Onwu, in a statement he signed, in Abuja, said those behind the fake news must be fished out and brought to book.
”Soldiers have observed the worrisome incidence of hoaxes about soldiers supposedly forcefully injecting school students and pupils with killer vaccines. “This has caused untold distress to children and their parents alike as they usually find out that they have panicked over nothing. None of those that have responded to the fake news have been able to tender credible evidence of anyone being forcefully vaccinated in any part of the country.
“The hoaxes and those spreading fake news about them represent the lowest form of debasement to which even certified scums can sink as the action amounts to preying on the gullibility of poor masses, a pure act of causing terror to spread among the populace. NICreL condemns the hoaxes in the strongest terms as it is abominable to toy with vaccination, which is something that is sensitive to human life as.
“This situation has forced schools to shut down in several states as people dressed in military outfits pretend to force pupils to receive vaccination.
“The impersonation of the Army to terrorize citizens therefore appears geared towards reversing the gains of its Operation Python Dance II while frustrating Operation Crocodile Smile II as both have medical outreach that are not conducted in school environments.
“The impersonation of the military by members of a terrorist group is a mutation of the threats posed by impersonation and one that must be immediately countered. The hoaxes about the killer vaccination are being elaborately staged for propaganda value for now but it is a matter of time before these terrorists begin to actually inject children with biological agents.
“We therefore call on the Nigerian Army to immediately investigate persons wearing its uniform to impersonate soldiers and terrorizing citizens with fake news about forceful vaccination with killer viruses. Anyone caught in this nefarious act should be dealt with in accordance with the law”.