Stop Sharing Photos of Fallen Soldiers at War Fronts; Army Warn Nigerians

Stop Sharing Photos of Fallen Soldiers at War Fronts; Army Warn Nigerians

The Nigerian Army has condemned in strong term, the indiscriminate sharing of graphic pictures of fallen soldiers on social media.

The Nigerian Army spokesman, Brigadier general Mohammed Yerima made this known in a statement Tuesday evening.

The Army described posting of fallen Nigerian Army on social media as “unpatriotic but very insensitive and utterly reprehensible.”

It said that such act can dent the image of the military personnel who were on a legitimate duties to defend their country.

The statement read in part, “In the course of carrying out this constitutional mandate, troops put their lives on the line to ensure that innocent citizens and institutions of the state are protected from violent criminals. In some cases, these gallant officers and soldiers are meted with the worst form of savagery by the heartless adversaries whose intent is to instill fear on of the citizenry.  

“While the Nigerian Army and its personnel understand the nature of the noble calling and are ever ready to confront any danger of adversity on the way, what is most unfathomable is the glee with which some people share the gory pictures of officers and soldiers who are either killed-in-action or Wounded-in-action in the media. 

“These unpatriotic acts are often done without any modicum of consideration for the memories of the departed personnel or their family members. In some cases, their loved ones do find out about their unfortunate death in such callous manner before they are even contacted by the military authorities. One can only imagine the trauma and pain such families go through waking up to see the gory pictures of their loved ones splashed on the social media.”

The Nigerian Army, however, affirmed to protect the troops from being ridiculed by posting killed-in-action or Wounded-in-action graphic pictures of its personnel.