At forenoon last Friday, a group of soldiers went berserk in the Palmgrove and Onipanu areas of Lagos. They brutalized and molested law abiding Nigerians who had the misfortune of being in those areas at the wrong time. They also set ablaze BRT Buses (owned by the Lagos State Government), which serves the ordinary people of Lagos.
Their grouse was the killing of a lance corporal, Matthew Ishaya. He was knocked down by one of the BRT buses. This was why the soldiers took the laws into their hands in a country that has a justice system.
When you hear this kind of inexplicable misbehaviour, you cannot but wonder the type of people who are recruited into the Nigerian Army. The lawlessness of the soldiers also hangs a huge question mark as to the quality of education and training army recruits get before they get to wear the uniform.
The last thing that should be accepted in a democracy is this kind of misconduct by the men and women in uniform. The army has no place in a democracy, except to the extent that they may be called upon, via an executive order of a democratically elected leader, in cases of emergency – war, civil unrest, natural disaster etc. Normally, soldiers should not leave their barracks without permission.
It therefore follows that the action of those soldiers, who carried out the carnage is a crime against public order. Their action is a gross violation, which involves interference with the normal operation of the democratic society of Nigeria. They acted illegally against publicly shared values, customs and norms.
President Goodluck Jonathan, as the Commander-in-Chief is constitutionally obligated to order the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff to identify those who were involved and court marshal them without delay. In a country, where the rule of law should prevail, no one is above the law. And the position remains the same notwithstanding the fact that one is in uniform.
I would call on the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against Jonathan, should he fail or refuse, for whatever reasons, to bring those responsible to book. If he fails to uphold the constitution and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as he swore on oath, it is an impeachable offence.
The time has come for us, as a people, to thickly underline the dignity of being a Nigerian. It can never be accepted that people in uniform should disrespect the same people who gave them those uniforms. It can never be accepted that Nigerians should be brutalized by the least provocation by the military, like in this case that a soldier was knocked down by a bus.
While I sympathize with the dead soldier’s family, there is nothing special about a soldier being knocked down. Soldiers do not enjoy any special legal protection which is alien to other Nigerians. Thousands of Nigerians die yearly from road mishaps.
The army uniform does not confer extraordinary privileges. Rather it imposes extraordinary duties on those wearing it. They are expected to examplarily obey the laws of the land. They must defend those laws and the people of the Republic. And, if need be, die in the process of defending the law and the citizens.
This is why it is shocking to right thinking Nigerians when soldiers, who should put their lives on the line defending the people, turn around and start attacking and maltreating the same people.
This writer has always held the view that most of the people parading themselves as soldiers don’t even know why they are wearing the army uniform. They are mostly people, desperately in need of daily bread, who could not or lacks the ability to turn their minds and hands on other occupations.
Unfortunately, soldiers have continuously being used in Nigeria against the people they are supposed to serve. Nigerian soldiers serve predominantly the ruling class. It thus explain the arrogance of the military towards civilians, including last week’s havoc undeservedly meted out to Nigerians going about their lawful duties.
Maybe, there is something we don’t know that the soldiers were rampaging about. Could it be that they are traumatized by the stress of Boko Haram and the shame of their inability to quell the insurgency?
There must be something. It can’t be because of their colleague who was killed. Because their insane conduct would not bring him back to life. It is insanity to also damage public property and descend on people who had nothing to do with the incident which ended Ishaya’s sojourn on earth.
They committed, at least, the crimes of breach of peace, assault, battery, grievous bodily harm and arson contrary to the Criminal Code. And the soldiers must be made to face the music.
Apart from dealing with the culprits in army uniform, who took the laws into their hands, the Chief of Defence Staff needs to re-educate and re-orientate the men and women in uniform. It need to be drummed into their heads that, be it under a civilian government or military aberration, those in the military are merely servants of the people, whose overriding duty is to defend their country and the people, should the need arise.
