The Army in Nigeria has pledged to look into the conditions at its detention centers after a video appeared online showing soldiers complaining about too many people and not enough food at the 8 Division Garrison detention facility in Sokoto State.
In the video which came out online on Friday, the soldiers expressed dissatisfaction with the facility and how they were being treated.
The person in the video said there were over 100 people in the facility, and over 40 of them were waiting for confirmation.
He also complained about their well-being, saying that the food they were given was insufficient. “They take away our food and don't allow us to buy more. Four years and still in detention,” he said.
The Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, stated in a message on Monday that the army chief considers the incident “unfortunate” and has directed an investigation to find out how widespread the problems are.
The statement partly said, “Certainly, the Sokoto barracks detention facility incident is quite unfortunate and embarrassing to the effective management efforts of the Chief of Army Staff, to say the least.
“In line with his leadership style, the COAS has initiated a suitable investigation into the incident to establish whether it is an isolated or widespread situation in similar detention facilities.”
The Army also mentioned that it would not tolerate the way the soldiers aired their complaints, and those involved could face disciplinary action.
The statement added, “While the service regrets and has learned some lessons from the incident, it will however not condone the manner the inmates expressed their alleged grievance. Mutiny and conduct prejudicial to service order are serious offenses, and this particular incident exemplifies such.
“As such, as Army, on the one side, goes ahead to implement the COAS directive to look into the state of all NA detention facilities, as detainees’ lives also matter, the Service shall not shy away from appropriately penalizing the soldiers involved in the unruly behavior in its Sokoto detention facility for failing to exhaust all available options to channel their complaints to the appropriate authorities.”
It added that if it was discovered they did and nothing was done, “necessary administrative actions will be taken against anyone found to have failed to discharge his/her duties effectively.”
The statement added that the soldiers in the video are waiting for confirmation of their sentencing, and it will ensure that all detainees are given a “relatively decent life” until their sentences are confirmed.
It said, “While the Service is aware of its subjective oversight engagements by statutory bodies, it remains primarily a responsible, self-regulating professional body.
“As such, the service remains committed to ensuring that everyone, even those found guilty of aiding terrorists, kidnappers, and bandits, and are waiting for confirmation of their sentencing, as it has been discovered in the Sokoto case is given a relatively decent life until their judgment is confirmed and executed.”
PUNCH Online reported in January a Nigerian soldier based in Maiduguri, Borno State, revealed his frustration at not being able to see his family because he claimed the cost of transportation was higher than his salary.
Watch video here:
𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨: 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐭𝐨
The Nigerian Army has promised to investigate conditions at its detention facilities after a video emerged online showing soldiers complaining… pic.twitter.com/8xyUuenDZ8
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) May 11, 2024
