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See reason Nigerian Army gave for detaining soldier who converted from Islam to Christianity
The Nigerian Army has said Lance Corporal Musa Adamu was not detained because he converted from Islam to Christianity.
Army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu in a statement said Adamu is in custody for violation of some provisions of the Armed Forces Act.
An earlier report by Sahara Reporters claim Adamu was detained for converting from Islam to Christianity and also preaching the gospel.
But the Nigeria Army said the report is not only a misrepresentation of the true situation but a falsehood tainted with religious bigotry being peddled against the force.
The Army spokesman explained that Adamu, who is attached to Amphibious Training School committed an offence that was in “violation of extant Social Media policy for the Armed Forces of Nigeria” for preaching in uniform on a social media platform while he was attached to 63 Brigade to participate in an ongoing operation.
“This prompted his invitation for interrogation by relevant authorities. Rather than present himself for the investigation, he absconded for about six and a half months, resulting in the declaration of the soldier on Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL). The action of the personnel violates Section 58 (a) (b) Obstruction of Provost Officers and Section 59 (a) (b) Absence Without Leave,” Nwachukwu said.
He disclosed that once a personnel is absent from his unit for 7 days without any justification, he will be declared on AWOL.
“This automatically triggers the freezing of his salary account, until the personnel returns to unit and is arraigned and sanctioned,” Nwachukwu said.
“It is equally important to state that contrary to the erroneous impression that the soldier is being victimized for converting from Islam to Christianity and for preaching the gospel, the soldier was rather taken into custody for investigation and in pursuant of statutory provisions enshrined in the Armed Forces Act CAP 20: The Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, which the soldier contravened.
His detention is therefore not unlawful.
“It is expedient to point out, that each and every personnel of the NA functions under a Corps or Department with stipulated statutory responsibilities manned by qualified personnel trained to effectively execute those duties.”
He noted that religious affairs of the NA are handled by designated clergies in the Directorates of Chaplain Services (Protestant), (Roman Catholic) and Islamic Affairs.
Nwachukwu said the Personnel of these Directorates are the ones mandated to conduct all religious activities to cater for the spiritual needs of all personnel of the NA, both in the theatres of operations and within the barracks.
“The question begging for answer is, if the NA allowed the soldier to change his religion, why then would the NA victimize him? It is ironical therefore, that an institution that promotes the spiritual wellbeing of its personnel is alleged to have detained the soldier for the expression of his faith, even when it is abundantly clear that he has the opportunity to also change his Corps to any of the Army’s Chaplaincy,” Nwachukwu said.
The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.
The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.
In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.
The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.
The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.
Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.
Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.
Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.
Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.
Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.
The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.
Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.
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