Jackson Ude
By Victory Oghene
Following recent claims and circulation of flyers on the social media declaring, Mr Jackson Ude, a former aide to President Goodluck Jonathan wanted, investigations have revealed that the flyers are spurious and did not emanate from the Nigerian Army.
This much was uncovered in a post by the veteran U.S based Journalist, Jackson Ude via his verified Twitter handle now X.
The post titled “Defence Minister Badaru Says He is Not Aware Army Declared Me Wanted” and posted last Sunday, quoted the Minister of Defence saying he was not aware that the Army had declared Ude Wanted.
The post read in part “Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has told me he is not aware I have been declared wanted by the Nigerian Army or any other armed forces in Nigeria”
A credible source in the Army Media directorate, when contacted to confirm if the flyers were from them, described it as fake saying it did not emanate from them.
“Fake. Not from Army,” the source who prefers not to be named stated.
A Major in the Defence Headquarters also knocked off the flyer and mugshot, declaring it as fake. He said such could not have emanated from the Army because the procedures for such is usually from the Defence Headquarters.
Ude has been embroiled in controversy following his recent social media post alleging the demise of Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja.
The Nigerian Army promptly debunked the report through its Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu and confirmed that the Army Chief is alive and well.
Last week, flyers with a mugshot began to circulate online suggesting that the Army had declared Ude wanted but the top Army source clarified this to be untrue.
The source emphasized the Army’s commitment to upholding the rule of law while condemning Ude’s spread of unverified news, saying it can cause unrest.
Efforts to reach Ude for further comments were not successful but a source close to him said this is not the first time a faceless group would make spurious allegations against him recalling that last month, Ude’s name was included in a list of alleged terrorists sponsors which turned out to be fake.
