A video of a female soldier bathing a corps member, Ezeiruaku Ifeyinwa Fidelia, with dirty water has emerged online and gone viral.
In the short video, the female soldier, Chika Anele, was seen pouring the dirty water on the corps member who was kneeling down, leaving her drenched.
The corps member who is said to be serving at the 13 Brigade headquarters in Calabar, was spotted trying to remove the muddy particles in the water from her body.
It was gathered that the corps took the action after the corps member engaged in an argument with her.
The clip has continued to provoke outrage on social media, with many Nigerians calling for the prosecution of the soldier using the hashtag #JusticeForIfenyinwa.
Reacting, the army condemned the action of its official in the viral clip, describing it as “unprofessional” and “condemnable”.
In a syayement on Thursday by Onyema Nwachuku, its spokesman, the army said the soldier’s action does not reflect its principles.
It also said that the officer involved has been identified and sanctioned, adding that she will be tried in line with the extant provisions of the Armed Forces Act.
“The Nigerian Army (NA) has taken cognizance of a video clip currently making the rounds on the social media, where a female officer was seen dehumanizing a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Calabar, Cross River State,” it read.
“This act is not only condemnable, but unprofessional and against established precepts of discipline in the NA. The NA has remained undoubtedly the pride of the nation, a symbol of national unity that has consistently being in the vanguard of respect for the fundamental human rights of the citizenry.
“It is against this premise that the NA condemns this unimaginable level of infraction by a personnel in its ranks. The NA therefore, condemns in strong terms, this act of gross misconduct. Undoubtedly, the officer’s actions has caused the NA monumental embarrassment and is highly regrettable.
“This unfortunate act of indiscipline does not in anyway represent the NA and will not be condoned in its entirety. For the records, the ugly incident happened in 13 Brigade, Calabar. The Brigade Commander immediately instituted an investigation and the officer involved has been identified and sanctioned on the interim and would be made to undergo regimental orders (trial) in line with the extant provisions of the Armed Forces Act.”
The army also dismissed claims in some quarters that it was attempting to cover up the incident.
“The submission that the Brigade attempted covering up was therefore misleading, as the NA remains a professional force that has zero tolerance for indiscipline amongst its personnel,” it added.
“The NA wishes to reiterate and assure the general public that such infractions would not be tolerated from its personnel. The NA also reassures that the rights of the citizenry is sacrosanct and must be respected by all personnel of the NA, as any form of infraction will be severely dealt with.
“Therefore, the general public is enjoined to continue to report such infractions, as Human Rights Desks in all formations of the NA are emplaced to deal decisively with such erring personnel.
“The NA further wishes to tender unreserved apology to the victim, her family members, friends, National Youth Service Corps and to Nigerians in general for the unwholesome treatment meted out to the corps member.”
H/T: TheCable
Discussion about this post