Justice Crack denies claims he told soldiers to remove meat from meals

Social media activist, Justice Crack

Mark Justice, known as Justice Crack, has denied claims from Defence Minister Christopher Musa. Musa said Justice Crack told Nigerian soldiers to take meat out of their meals to make their food look bad in a viral video.

Justice Crack spoke up after the minister's comments on News Central. The minister rejected claims of poor military feeding and accused Justice Crack of staging the video. “The soldiers’ food was okay. There was meat, there was all these things. He told them to put all these things out and make it look as if those things were not there,” the minister claimed.

In a statement on Thursday, Justice Crack called the allegation false and damaging. He said he has no power to direct soldiers. “The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), lied during an interview on News Central that I, Justice Crack, instructed military officers to remove meat and other items from their meals to make the food appear inadequate,” he said.

“I never told any military officer to remove meat or anything else from their food. What authority do I have to give such an instruction? I am not a General, a Commander, or a Colonel. I have no military background whatsoever. Why would I instruct serving military personnel to do such a thing?”

Justice Crack insisted he didn’t speak to military personnel. He said some officers reached out to him to discuss their welfare. “It is also important for the public to know that I never reached out to military officers. Rather, some of them reached out to me to express concerns about their welfare.

“In good faith, I made a video to raise awareness so that the military authorities could pay attention to the welfare of the officers and men serving our country. My intention was simply to advocate for better working conditions, improved welfare, and better living conditions for the brave men and women who defend Nigeria,” he stated.

The activist said the minister’s words could harm his reputation. “It is deeply painful and, in my view, defamatory to hear the Honourable Minister of Defence make such a statement about me on national television without presenting any evidence.

“Such a statement has the potential to damage my reputation and misrepresent my intentions before the Nigerian public.”

He stressed his advocacy is about accountability and welfare for security personnel. “I therefore wish to make it abundantly clear that I, Mark Chidiebere Justice, popularly known as Justice Crack, never instructed any military officer to remove meat or any other item from their food.

“My advocacy has always been about accountability, better welfare for our security personnel, and good governance. This statement is made solely to correct the record and inform the Nigerian public of the true position.”

PUNCH Online reported in May that Justice Crack was remanded in prison after being charged over a viral video that allegedly criticized the Nigerian Army’s feeding. He faced charges of cyber-related offences.

One charge claimed he spread false information on his social media handle, @JusticeCrack, about the feeding of Nigerian Army personnel. The charge says, “That you, CHIDIEBERE JUSTICE MARK… did circulate information to the public through your social media handle @JusticeCrack regarding alleged inadequate feeding of Nigerian Army personnel, which you know the said information to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing annoyance, ill will, and hatred… contrary to and punishable under Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended.”