Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall F ML Agwai Block, Abuja. There was one presentation made by the Subject Experts on Eastern Europe.
The presentation made by Brig Gen Ak Egwuagu (Rtd) subject expert on Eastern Europe discussed Propaganda and Provocation as Ukraine Downs a Plane with its POWs Aboard. There has been serious confusion following the crash of a Russian military jet near the Ukrainian border on 24 Jan 24 in which all the passengers and crew members on board were reported killed. Days after the crash, unanswered questions loom the air as Moscow and Kyiv trade blames with starkly conflicting versions and insufficient proof on the incident.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen Ak Egwuagu (Rtd) pointed out that it may be recalled that there were similar cases in Nigeria in which fatalities have been recorded on the populace by the military, whereby innocent civilians are killed amidst denials, arguments and blame trading between security agencies. ‘’In 2019, the NMA chairman, Ekpe Philip had blamed the intractable security challenges in the country on lack of coordination among security operatives’’. He observed that the continued trading of blames between the NA and NP over the killing of 3 police officers and injuring of a civilian by soldiers at a checkpoint in Taraba State on August 6, 2019 had left Nigerians in a state of confusion and hopelessness.
He recommended that the MOD should promptly set up independent inquiries to investigate accident cases in military operations towards establishing criminal responsibility or otherwise and the institution of fair trials to punish or reprimand those found guilty and also the military should improve on information gathering and intelligence interpretation techniques to enhance successful military operations.
