The Nigerian Army has rejected a video posted on social media which claimed the defence minister Bashir Magashi was carrying a weapon.
The army said in a disclaimer posted to Facebook on Sunday that the video was falsified.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a falsified Social Media post aimed at demeaning the Honorable Minister of Defence.
“The Army wishes to state that the person in the video is not the Honorable Minister of Defence,” the disclaimer read.
Appointed in 2019, Magashi made a controversial statement in February, urging Nigerians to show that they are not cowards by defending themselves against bandits.
“It is the responsibility of everybody to keep alert and to find safety when necessary. But we shouldn’t be cowards. At times, the bandits will only come with about three rounds of ammunition, when they fire shots everybody runs. In our younger days, we stand to fight any aggression coming for us,” he said.
