Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has welcomed the disciplinary action taken by Nigerian Army against a soldier who dehumanised a female youth corps member in Calabar, Cross River State.
His Special Assistant on Multimedia, Toyin Ibitoye, said in a statement that the minister condemned in “very strong terms” the unfortunate incident.
A female soldier was seen dehumanising a female corps member on July 28, 2021 in Calabar in a video clip that went viral on social media.
The Army has described the “act of misconduct as unprofessional, embarrassing and highly regrettable”.
“This unfortunate act of indiscipline does not in anyway represent the NA and will not be condoned in its entirety,” Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said a statement.
He said that the officer involved had been identified and sanctioned in the interim and would be made to undergo regimental orders (trial) in line with the extant provisions of the Armed Forces Act.
The minister said that he had received full briefing from the Director General of NYSC about the unfortunate incident and welcomed the steps taken by the Army on the matter.
“We believe and assured that the Army with its discipline and commitment to professional ethics will make sure justice is served,” the minister said.
He urged that all military and para military personnel be re-oriented to desist from any such dehumanising actions against corps members across the country.
The minister further directed NYSC to, henceforth, intensify close monitoring of all camps to avoid similar occurrences.
