The Nigerian Army and a civil society group say Boko Haram insurgents did not hoist their flags in Adamawa state. The Nigerian Army has described as misleading the news of alleged hoisting of flags by members of the Boko Haram terrorist sect in Adamawa state.Army spokesman, Texas Chukwu, in a statement on Monday, July 16, 2018, noted that the reported hoisting of flag by the terrorists were meant “to erode all the gains the Nigerian Army and other security agencies have so far achieved.He advised media practitioners to “always cross check their facts before rushing to the press”.’It is fake news’Earlier, a civil society group, the Save Humanity Advocacy Centre, had described the news of hoisting of flags by insurgents as “fake news”.Lawrence Audu, Director of Communications of the group at a press conference on Sunday July 15, false alarm is an attempt at frustrating the ongoing efforts to relocate and rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons back to their homes. Audu said the information “remains a figment of the imagination of those merchants of death and profiteers of crisis who have vowed to see to the destabilisation of this country.”He expressed concerns that the report was capable of putting the life of humanitarian workers in danger and thwarting efforts at relocating internally displaced persons back home.“For the records, the Nigerian Military has won the war and no Jupiter can reverse the successes achieved even if they are happy or not. Efforts are ongoing and credible humanitarian organisations have continued to work with the IDPs of which many have returned home,” Audu announced.“At this juncture, we call on all Nigerians to always verify the sources of their information before rebroadcasting because statistics show that fake news and rumours have been largely responsible for the escalation of crisis in most parts of the country. “Nigerians must be aware that one major component of terror is information flow. Terrorists like ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab and their collaborators create dreadful images to instill fear followed by hate which travels like wild fire.“Since negative news appeals more to the human senses, they are shared without proper verification to its authenticity,” he added. The group therefore called on Nigerians and the international collaborators to disregard the stories being aimed at discouraging the Federal Government and the Nigerians from appreciating the efforts of the military in ending insurgency in the country.
