Abuja: The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed a viral video falsely claiming that the Armed Forces plans to recruit Nigerians aged 18 and above into military service forcibly.
Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Samaila Uba, issued this statement on Saturday in Abuja.
Uba said the video, which featured a cloned image of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, was fabricated to mislead the public and smear the military leadership.
According to Uba, neither the CDS nor any Service Chief has ever issued such a directive.
He described the claim as malicious, mischievous and aimed at portraying the military in a bad light.
Uba said that recruitment into the Armed Forces remained voluntary, with thousands of Nigerians applying willingly during each enlistment exercise.
He cautioned the public about the growing spread of digitally manipulated content, especially given the ease with which fake videos can be created with Artificial Intelligence tools.
The spokesman urged Nigerians to verify information from official DHQ communication channels before sharing.
Uba stressed that only statements issued through the Defence Headquarters’ authorised spokespersons and verified social media handles should be considered credible.
He urged the public to disregard the circulating video, describing it as fake and baseless.