The Nigerian Army has debunked news of working with the security force put up by Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, a former insurgent commander in the Niger Delta.
The Army insisted that it was not working with Dokubo’s private military firm.
Dokubo recently had a private military firm that the government hired to assist the military in various states.
The Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, asserted that only the appropriate body, which is legally required to license such outfits, could determine whether Dokubo’s assertion was true.
Nwachukwu said in a statement that the Nigerian Army had never worked with Dokubo’s private enterprise on any mission.
According to Nwachukwu:
“Going by that interview, Dokubo claims he owns a private military company that was engaged by the government of Nigeria.
“However, it must be clarified that the Nigerian Army is not in any form of partnership or collaborative pact with the ex-militant or whatever private security outfit he claims to own.
“It is also expedient to place on record that contrary to his claims, the Nigerian Army has never conducted any operation jointly or side by side with Asari or the organisation he represents, in any of those areas he mentioned or in any Asari Dokubo theatre of operations.”