. . . Wants soldiers to stop burning towns and villages when they lose personnel to hoodlums, unknown gun men

A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Monday, condemned the extrajudicial killings of civilians by soldiers and called on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Farouk Yahaya, to uphold professionalism within the Nigerian Army.

HURIWA also expressed shock, disappointment and trepidation that soldiers in Nigeria, even in this 21st century when democracy, constitutionalism and the principle of the Rule of Law should be the abiding modus operandi of armed forces and security institutions. But the group lamented that soldiers, especially in Southern Nigeria, have repeatedly gone on rampage and coordinated arson attacks on towns and villages, burning, killing and maiming innocent persons as reprisals for killings of one or few of the personnel, by mostly armed bandits from far flung places. “HURIWA is asking the Army Chief to totally stop this primitive reprisals and to encourage and oblige his troops to forensically investigate cases of murder of soldiers and take lawful mechanisms to arrest, prosecute and punish the offender rather than behave like a bunch of outlaws by burning down villages and killing innocent persons extra-judicially,” the group suggested.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it was now becoming a trend for trigger-happy soldiers to go on the rampage and assault civilians and, in most cases, kill them during minor disagreements within the society. “HURIWA is shocked that even when the current Army chief has a lot of regard for human rights, the majority of the troops embarking on internal security operations behave like untrained dogs and mass killers,” the statement added.

The group urged the Army chief to explore stringent punishment for errant soldiers and ensure that court marshals deal with such acts of gross indiscipline and murders just as indicted personnel must be prosecuted and get the stiffest punishment to deter more of such unpardonable acts.

During the 2023 governorship election last week, soldiers in Taraba State shot and killed two policemen and injured another three in a deadly clash in Jalingo around police headquarters.

According to reports, the state police headquarters was attacked by the military, which caused the Independent National Election Commission to temporarily halt the collation of election results.

According to the Commissioner of Police, Taraba State, Yusuf Suleiman Amodu, a minor disagreement led to the escalation of the incident.

Also on Friday, a soldier in Niger State killed three Beninois family members in Babana area of Borgu Local Government Area of the state.

Similarly, earlier in the year, a Task Force Team of the Lagos State Police Command got into a street fight with a soldier in Ijaya, Apongbon area of Lagos. In a viral video, the military officer was seen trying to disarm a Police officer after disagreement had ensued between the two personnel.

HURIWA said in its statement: “The collapse of professionalism and discipline in the Nigerian Army calls for concern. This is despite all the great strides being made by the current Lieutenant-General, Yahaya.

“These acts of indiscipline and extrajudicial killings by soldiers are worrisome. HURIWA asks that the army chief explore other stringent punishments for such disciplinary issues and escalate these issues to court marshals to deal with such acts of gross indiscipline and murders; just as indicted personnel must be prosecuted for murder and get the stiffest punishment.”

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