Authorities of the Nigerian Army has vowed to bring to book soldiers who were caught on camera on Saturday maltreating civilians alleged to be suspected armed robbers.
It would be recalled that Daily Trust Newspapers published the photograph of the incident on Monday morning.
The Army spokesperson, Col. Sani Usman, stated that the action of the soldiers caught maltreating civilians on Saturday has done gross damage to the image and reputation of the service and that it is at variance with military ethics and professionalism.
He stated this in a statement he issued on Monday, adding that the perpetrators had been identified and would be punished accordingly.
Usman however criticised Daily Trust over what it called “poor and worrisome editorial judgment for giving this misbehavior prominence in their paper”.
“Alerting appropriate Nigerian Army authorities would have been a better option that will be met with prompt response,” Mr. Sani said.
The statement reads: “The attention of Nigerian Army has been drawn to a front page photograph of some soldiers maltreating a suspected robber at Mararraba, Nasarawa State, on the front page of today’s edition of Daily Trust newspaper.
“Sadly, it is also trending on the Social Media. “There is no doubt the photograph has done incalculable damage to the image of the service. The act was unfortunate and at variance with military ethics and professionalism. “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that the perpetrators of the offence have been identified, summoned and would face disciplinary action. “The Army has also reached out to the management of the newspaper over this poor and worrisome editorial judgment by giving this misdemeanour prominence in their paper. Alerting appropriate Nigerian Army authorities would have been a better option that will be met with prompt response. “We wish to assure the public that the Nigerian Army would continue to protect and respect human rights and that this regrettable incidence should not be used as a yardstick to judge the entire Army”.
DAILY POST recalls that the Nigerian Military had come under international searchlight lately over human rights abuses, especially in the course of their prosecution of the war against Boko Haram insurgents.
The Amnesty International, AI, produced a damning report of a catalogued of rights abuses committed by the military against sometimes defenceless civilians and called for the prosecution of some military commanders and top retired officers for complicity in the right violations.
It will also be recalled that the United States of America had refused to sell military hardware to Nigeria because, according to US officers, its law, especially Leahy Law forbids them from selling ammunition to Armies involved in right abuses.
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