Endless Dehumanisation of Civilians by Military
Notes for File
The latest viral video where a commissioned female officer of the Nigerian Army was seen humiliating and brutalising a female member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has again brought to the fore, the Nigerian military’s penchant for committing all kinds of atrocities against civilians at any slightest provocation.
The worst culprit is the Nigerian Army personnel, who rampage the streets, markets, roads and other public places, searching for ‘bloody civilians’ to torture, humiliate and sometimes, kill for frivolous reasons.
No God knows what on earth the female corps member could have done to warrant such a dehumanizing treatment.
It is on records that in Lagos, for instance, these uniformed men enjoy all kinds of privileges and do not pay transport fare in vehicles that do not even belong to the government, yet they look out for flimsy excuses to torture drivers, conductors and other law-abiding citizens on the roads.
Instances abound where the Nigerian military personnel have killed even policemen performing their lawful duties with little or no consequences.
In July this year, men of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had stormed the Ladipo spare part market in Lagos and shot at unarmed traders, killing one person, following an argument over N98,000 motor spare parts purchased by an army personnel.
In the latest viral video, a female officer identified as Lt. Chika Viola Anele, was seen hitting and pouring unknown liquid substance on a fully kitted female corps member, also identified as Ezeiruaku Ifenyinwa Fidelia, who is serving her national assignment at the 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Calabar, Cross River State.
The young officer Anele demonstrated that she and her colleagues were trained to act like “mad dogs” when it comes to the treatment of civilians.
Though the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, has disclosed that the officer had been identified and would be sanctioned, such a promise has always been the official reaction of the military when public outcry forces it to react to atrocities of its men against civilians.
In most cases, the military will claim that they have sanctioned the culprit just to bury the matter because the public won’t have the privilege of knowing the nature of the sanction.
A disciplined military organisation should not always be the judge in their own case but should hand over their erring personnel to the police for proper prosecution.
Given the atrocities being committed against law-abiding civilians by the military, one wonders if soldiers are made to swear an oath to be enemies of the civilians in their training schools.
