Nigerian defense dismisses reports of secret graveyards in restive NE region Nigerian defense dismisses reports of secret graveyards in restive NE region

LAGOS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua/GNA) - Nigeria's Defense Headquarters on Thursday dismissed reports the army operates some secret graveyards in the northeast where some troops are secretly buried away from the public.

In a statement made available to Xinhua in Lagos, Onyema Nwachukwu, the defense spokesperson, said the allegations were false and that such practice was inconsistent with the culture and practices of the military.

Reports circulating online had alleged that the Nigerian military maintained secret graveyards in the northeast theater of operation, burying the bodies of soldiers which "are covertly transported from a mortuary".

The defense spokesperson, however, said the cemetery described in the publication, situated in Maimalari military cantonment, was an officially designated military cemetery for the armed forces of Nigeria in the northeast theater, with a cenotaph erected in honor of fallen heroes.

"The Defense Headquarters urges members of the armed forces and the general public to disregard such a misinformed publication and see it as a figment of the imagination of the writer, whose knowledge of military valued ethos and traditions is grossly misplaced," Nwachukwu said. 

GNA

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