The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said there are no secret graveyards in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, where soldiers are buried contrary to reports.
A publication by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) alleged that the army had secretly buried over 1,000 soldiers in unmarked graves in Borno state in a bid to cover up the casualty figures in the ongoing war against insurgency in the North East.
A statement by the Director of Defence Information, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, on Thursday the headquarters in reaction to the said report called it an ‘insinuation’.
He urged members of the Armed Forces and the general public to disregard the publication.
“It must be unambiguously clarified that the Armed Forces of Nigeria does not indulge in secret burials, as it is sacrilegious and a profanity to extant ethos and traditions of the Nigerian military,” the statement said.
Nwachukwu also said that in tandem with the traditions of the Armed Forces, fallen heroes are duly honoured and paid the last respect in befitting military funeral of international standard, featuring funeral parade, gravesite oration, solemn prayers for the repose of departed souls by Islamic and Christian clerics, as well as gun salutes, aside other military funeral rites.
He added: “The cemetery described in the publication, which is situated in Maimalari military cantonment is an officially designated military cemetery for the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the North East theatre, with a cenotaph erected in honour of our fallen heroes.
“The official cemetery has played host to several national and international dignitaries, where wreaths were laid in honour of the fallen heroes.
“It is, therefore, a far cry from the sacrilegious impression being painted by Wall Street Journal.”