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Security Experts React To Live Streaming Of Buratai’s Son Wedding On Facebook

On Friday, the official Facebook of the Nigerian Army Livestreamed the wedding Fatiha of Tukur Hamisu, the son of Tukur Buratai, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, held at a mosque in the highbrow Maitama district of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Official communication channels of the army are traditionally not used for publicizing the personal activities of military chiefs and their families. 

It’s unclear why the army chose to use its official Facebook account to broadcast the personal affair of the Chief of Army Staff who is responsible for coordinating the ongoing operations against terrorist groups wreaking havoc in many parts of the country.


The army’s official social media accounts are meant for official dissemination of information, so that means any official function by the army or any information that it wants to send out to the public, says Kabir Adamu, a security expert.

Adamu added that he was at a lost as to how the wedding would be an official function to the extent that it will be publicised on any of the social media accounts of the army.

“It sounds inappropriate, I will probably urge the army headquarters to issue a clarification why they will do something like that,” Adamu said.

“There are so many things the social media accounts should churn out on counterinsurgency strategy and the army’s numerous operations across Nigeria.”

Confidence Isaiah-MacHarry, a security analyst at SBM Intelligence says “Without sugarcoating it, this follows a clear precedent set by the president, with the use of the presidential jet by his daughter for a personal assignment.”

“It is for the same reason that other people in the administration are unable to separate personal from official functions.”

“Lastly, it tells of the low depths of unprofessionalism by the army but this is Nigeria, and so, it is hardly surprising”.

On Thursday, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai cancelled the ongoing 2020 Chief of Army Staff’s Annual Conference after a participant tested positive for COVID-19.

In a follow-up statement by Sagir Musa, acting Director of Army Public Relations, participants at the conference were barred from attending the wedding of the army chief.

“The Chief of Army Staff, on behalf of his family, feels honoured to sincerely appreciate, thank and welcome all dignitaries and invited guests to his son’s Wedding Fatiha slated for Friday, December 11, 2020. However, due to the resurgence of the Pandemic in the FCT, General Buratai will be unable to personally attend to, receive or meet you at the event. All inconveniences hereby regretted, please,” the statement reads. 


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Murtala Abdullahi

Abdullahi Murtala is a researcher and reporter. His expertise is in conflict reporting, climate and environmental justice, and charting the security trends in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region. He founded the Goro Initiative and contributes to dialogues, publications and think-tanks that report on climate change and human security. He tweets via @murtalaibin

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