The Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria has described as baseless and diversionary, a request by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Enough is Enough (EiE), and BudgIT, where they jointly sent a Freedom of Information request to Lt. General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army asking him to urgently provide information on the 2015, 2016 and 2017 budget implementation reports of the Nigerian Army, including the amounts released and expended in the fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017 for the various operations the Army carried out.

The Coalition said it viewed the request by SERAP and its partners, as another in the series of orchestrated plans to continually distract the Army and its leadership from focusing on the ongoing war against insurgency by some “self serving NGOs, and their international collaborators whose motive is to clearly undermine our nation's security and foreign policies.”

Making this reaction while addressing the Press in Lagos on Monday, members of the Coalition led by its Convener, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji, said what is expected of any patriotic group at this time, in the nation, are positive interventions and moral support to the Nigerian military in order to encourage them, especially now that the decimated Boko Haram insurgents are embarking on desperate tactics, which has recently led to the loss of lives of some gallant Nigerian troops.

Odeyemi said SERAP's demand at this time, is nothing but insensitive and another failed attempt to distract the Nigerian Army in its ongoing war against insurgents and their supporters in the country.

“We are deeply worried on why SERAP and its allies, have chosen such a crucial moment like this to go to press and erroneously demand for Army spendings, which otherwise are not exclusively within the purview of the mandate of the Chief of Army Staff, from our own understanding.

“Moreover, did SERAP consider the security implications of making such information, which it sought, on the nation that is currently battling insurgency and some other local instability, majorly politically motivated, by some unpatriotic, self-serving politicians and some of their accomplices, locally and internationally, who masquerade as non-governmental organizations and right activists.

“We sincerely appeal to the Nigerian Army leadership, more importantly the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Buratai, to disregard such request, while we urge Nigerians to see this request as insensitive, baseless and diversionary.”

Finally, the group reaffirmed its belief in the capacity of the Nigerian military, particularly the leadership, towards bringing an end to all forms of insurgency in the country as it also urged Nigerians to keep praying for the men and officers of the Nigerian military who are concentrating on the important work at hand, that is, clearing the mess created by Boko Haram, while also supporting efforts aimed at rebuilding the North East and other parts of the country.

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