The tendencies for brutality and extrajudicial killings by uniformed men in Nigeria have continued to embarrass the country and the government.
In a fresh incident last week, some unscrupulous officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service humiliated and assaulted two officials of Oyo State Road Transport Management Authority, while on official duties.
The OYRTMA officials, Nurudeen Abiola and Taiwo Adeagbo, were arrested, detained and allegedly stripped naked by the officers of Zone F Command of the NIS for apprehending an Immigration officer, who violated traffic rules.
The Immigration officers were caught driving on one way against traffic along Onipepeye bridge underpass in Ibadan.
While paying visits to the affected victims at their homes last week, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, condemned the actions of the Immigration officers.
He noted that such behaviour was unacceptable regardless of any individual’s position in a federal agency.
The governor, who promised to prosecute the Immigration officers, said he had tasked the Attorney General with writing to the Immigration authorities to ensure accountability.
Such barbaric attitudes by the fanatical Immigration personnel require a critical re-engineering of the mindset of some of the country’s uniformed personnel.
Other cases of lawlessness by Nigerian soldiers abound. One was the killing of a secondary school pupil, identified as Pelumi, and a tricycle operator, Aloma, by soldiers attached to the Operation MESA security outfit in Makoko, a backwater community in Yaba, Lagos State.
Reports said two political factions had a disagreement in the aftermath of the 2023 presidential/National Assembly elections. A faction, however, brought soldiers who stormed the community and allegedly opened fire on residents. When the dust settled, Pelumi and Aloma lay dead.
The Nigerian military and paramilitary organisations, which should symbolize the highest level of discipline, have continued to harbour some personnel who behave like common thugs.
Sadly, officers, who should exercise effective control over them sometimes, by acts of commission or omission, are remiss. Hence, their subordinates commit atrocities against civilians without consequences.
In March 2022, soldiers from the Nigerian Army Battalion, Ibodi, Ilesa, Osun State, battered a car dealer, Adeyinka Adekunle, to death after an argument at a pub. The deceased was allegedly forced to eat his own vomit during torture in the barracks.
The belligerence does not stop with civilians. Unruly soldiers fight other security agents who challenge their impunity.
“The Nigerian military and paramilitary organisations, which should symbolize the highest level of discipline, have continued to harbour some personnel who behave like common thugs.”
In January 2023, a soldier assaulted traffic wardens after a bus driver he encouraged to drive against traffic was arrested in Lagos.
A similar scenario played out in November 2022 when soldiers battered a police officer and an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority on Eko Bridge after the military men were asked to desist from a traffic rule infraction.
In August 2022, six unruly soldiers driving against the traffic dragged two police officers on traffic duty to the Ojo Army Cantonment, Lagos, where they beat one of the police officers, Monday Orube, to death.
A police Inspector, Hosea Yakubu, was similarly beaten to death by soldiers at Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in 2020.
Soldiers from Ibereko Barracks, Badagry, Lagos State, in 2011 while protesting the killing of their colleagues, murdered a Divisional Police Officer, a Divisional Crime Officer, and eight other police officers in retaliation.
The National Human Rights Commission lamented that during the first few weeks of enforcement of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, police and military personnel killed 18 persons, when the coronavirus itself had only killed 12. Amnesty International reported that between 2011 and 2022, hundreds of civilians died in military custody in the country. In most cases, justice remains elusive for victims and their families.
Everywhere, the military is a bastion of discipline, and leadership training. In developed countries, having a military background is an advantage when contesting a political office. No fewer than 31 of the 45 presidents of the United States had prior military experience.
But in Nigeria, some soldiers are brutal bullies perpetually turning on civilians. Their impunity must come to an end. Responsibility for this lies with their superiors, and ultimately, the Presidency.
Recently, soldiers deployed to Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State razed down many houses in the community, following the killing of several military men on rescue mission to the riverine community.
The problem is impunity; the same soldiers are usually well-behaved when on foreign peacekeeping missions. The United Nations said Nigerian troops were the backbone of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia from 2003 to 2018.
About two months ago, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, arrested a soldier and some commercial motorcyclists popularly known as Okada Riders for driving against traffic along the Lagos-Badagry expressway in the state.
The role of the military in national defence is acknowledged and appreciated by Nigerians. These are men and women who for love of country have voluntarily signed on to defend its sovereignty, with their lives if necessary.
They have proved their mettle over time at home and abroad. They are ideally, heroes and heroines, not bullies. But the errant minority among them discredits their vaunted institution by violently oppressing civilians.
The military and other paramilitary organisations must resolve to stop the indiscipline and preserve the respect and dignity of the reputable, unifying institutions.
The Comptroller General of NIS, Kemi Nana Nandap, should resolve to end lawless behaviour by personnel embarrassing the paramilitary organisation.
Those involved in the brutalization of the OYRTMA officials must face justice and their superiors held accountable.
