Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has expressed displeasure with the activities of some officials of the Nigerian Army who allegedly subject indigenes of the state to corporal punishment and extort money for no just cause.
The governor said these human rights abuses were perpetrated along the Bend-Umuahia Road, Ohafia township and within Aba and its environs.
Ikpeazu, in a statement on Saturday, urged the Commander of the 14 Brigade, Nigeria Army Ohafia, Brig.-Gen. Adul Ibrahim, and the heads of Army formations in the state to closely monitor the activities of their men and ensure they stick to the rules of engagement.
The governor said the excesses of the military officers were capable of triggering civil unrest in the state.
The statement read in part, “While the state government has always indicated its preparedness to cooperate with all security agencies in their lawful operations within the state, we shall not condone a situation where the presence of the Army in the state becomes a platform to (trample on) the human rights of our people and subject them to inhumane and degrading treatments without any lawful excuse.
“The Government of Abia State shall no longer condone this unwarranted assault on the people of the state. Our people, as law-abiding citizens, deserve their basic freedom and fundamental rights to life, personal liberty and dignity of the human person.
“These rights are guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the same law from which the Army derives its authority. These rights can only be tampered with in accordance with laid-down legal procedures and not according to the caprices of individual Army officers.”
