UK Mission denies involvement of serving British Army officer, says individual reported served in Armed Forces Reserves, was discharged non-commissioned
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Report of a British Army officer being involved in illegal shipment of arms and ammunition to Nigeria has been denied by the British High Commission in Abuja.
A statement issued by British High Commission spokesperson clarified that “The individual identified in recent Nigerian media reporting is not a serving member of the UK Armed Forces.
“The individual identified did serve as a junior rank in the UK Armed Forces Reserves but was discharged.
“Whilst in the Reserves, he was a junior rank, not a commissioned officer.
“We have a common law and Data Protection Act duty to protect the personal details of our current and former employees and are therefore not able to release any additional information in this matter.”
The individual, an Itsekiri, was reportedly recruited by one Collins to procure weapons and ammunition intended to fuel tribal tensions over the delineation of a constituency in Delta by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Department of State Services (DSS) were said to have foiled the move last weekend and arrested the arms supplier during an operation in Asaba.
Over 50 AK-47 rifles, six pump-action shotguns, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated in the raid.
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