Fact-check: Does Nigerian Army have School for Islamic Affairs?
Claim: A viral picture across several social media platforms claimed that the Nigerian Army has a school of Islamic Affairs.
Full Text: The picture which was widely shared on Facebook account was accompanied by a terse and rhetorical question, “is this real?”
In the picture, army personnel could be seen in their green uniform.
The post elicited a lot of divergent reactions in the comment sections. While some expressed their disbelief, saying it’s divisive, looking at the inherent mutual distrust among Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines, some were quick to point accusing fingers at politicians of northern extraction.
Similarly, other commenters pointed out that the Nigerian Army equally has similar schools for for Christians to promote spiritual well-being and moral guidance within the military.
Verification: To verify the veracity of the claim, PRNigeria fact-check desk placed a phone call to the Nigerian Army spokesperson, General Onyema Nwachukwu.
General Onyema was quick to submit that it was a misleading and mischievous post, to think that the Nigerian Army only runs a school of Islamic Affairs, while other faith is ignored. He added that the NA is secular professional institution which respects all religious cravings of all its personnel.
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He added that the Nigerian Army has various theological schools to cater for all faiths such as the School of Islamic Affairs, Army Protestant Training School in Yaba, as well Chaplain Catholic School Training in Ojo Cantonment.
For further verification, PRNigeria fact-check visited the X (twitter) handle of the Nigerian Army. Our finding supported the earlier stance of the Nigerian Army spokesperson, General Onyema Nwachukwu.
In the statement, the Nigerian Army categorically denied allegations of religious bigotry and discrimination, stating that it is a secular organization that upholds religious freedom for all personnel.
The Army also highlighted its commitment to secularism, stating that it operates multiple religious training institutions to cater to the diverse faiths of its personnel. These include the Nigerian Army School of Islamic Affairs, the Nigerian Army Protestant Training School, and the Nigerian Army Chaplain Catholic Training School.
A google map search by PRNigeria provides the locations of some of the military religious training schools. The Army School of Islamic Affairs is located in Cantonment Ikeja, Protestant Training School in Yaba and the Chaplain Catholic Training School in Ojo Cantonment.
Conclusion: Therefore PRNigeria concludes that the narrative that aims to portray the Nigerian Army as running only a school of Islamic Affairs, without also mentioning that of Army Protestant and Catholic Schools is misleading.
By PRNigeria
