Nigeria Army bans posting of activities on social media to stop intelligence leakage
Worried by incessant posting of either horrific scenes or happy moments on battle fields, the Nigerian Army Wednesday placed an immediate ban on officers and soldiers on duty from uploading pictures and videos of their operation on social media.
General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Division Mechanized Army, Major-General Adeniyi Oyebade, gave the warning, on behalf of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Men of Nigerian Battalion (NIBBAT) 46 held at the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji in Kaduna state, Buratai said “it is prohibited to upload any picture with your uniforms while in operation. Specifically, I want to warn you on the use of social media.
“While you are on operation, you may want to take photo shot of some good moment but you should be very careful while doing that.
“Avoid any picture or video that has to do with your colleague or operation. You are barred not to upload such information.
“It is prohibited to upload any picture with your uniforms while in operation, because it will become a pragmatic problem for the Nigerian Army.”
Explaining more on why the ban was almost belated, a retired Col. of the Nigeria Army who pleaded anonymity said “If a well trained master decoder of intelligence gets a scene whether horrific or in war front, he can decode the mental capability of the troops and can on his own come up with tactical antidote to counter what the troops may be celebrating as good moments”.
