A Delta State-born rights lawyer, Edward Brisibe, has asked the Nigerian Army to parade and handover to the police the soldiers who threatened to unleash mayhem on Warri women in a viral video.
The soldiers, in the video, while reacting to last Thursday’s purported attack on soldiers following a protest on the killing of one Joseph Pessu in Warri, threatened to rape and infect with HIV, women in the state.
The army authorities in a statement on Friday, said the soldiers were arrested at the 9 Brigade, Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos State adding that it will not tolerate any form of irresponsibility and indiscipline on the part of its personnel.
Questioning the claims of the army on the arrest of the soldiers, the lawyer accused the soldiers of “hurriedly trying to save face” following the shameful disposition of its personnel.”
Edward said: “In as much as I will like to applaud the military authorities for claiming to arrest those recalcitrants they armed with assault rifles under the guise of being soldiers, they should also parade the soldiers and hand them over to the police for prosecution.
“The acts of these soldiers go a long way to show the brutish disposition of the average Nigeria soldier in the Niger Delta region especially in regards to the molestation of locals and burning down of houses in Bilabiri community of Bayelsa State.
“The Nigeria Army has a penchant for defending the irregularities of its personnel under the guise of a court-martial without these rebellious soldiers being prosecuted by the police as required by law.
“It should not just issue statements claiming to arrest the soldiers in the video, but the army should do the needful by parading them and handing them over to the police for prosecution.”
