Acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede has ordered an investigation of a viral video showing an army officer and two other soldiers assaulting a man and woman in Abuja.
The victims Vershima Mker and Lami Jennifer, preparing for their wedding, accused Major General G.S. Mohammed and Corporal A. Abubakar among others of assaulting them during a visit to some relatives in the Gwarinpa area of Abuja.
The lovers, both university graduates, claimed they were beaten, injured and unlawfully detained without committing any offence.
According to their lawyer, Tom Uja, the incident occurred while the intending couple was driving along the 3rd Avenue in Gwarinpa, Abuja.
Uja told PUNCH that the lovers tried to make way for the general’s convoy but couldn’t because of the roadside traders.
The lawyer further alleged that the military officers beat the about-to-wed couple, inflicted injuries, handcuffed them and put them in their boot.
The lovers are demanding the immediate dismissal of the officers involved and N150 million in damages as compensation for the physical and emotional harm inflicted on them.
A statement by the army spokesman Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said while the circumstances leading to the incident were not clear, the acting COAS ordered an immediate investigation to unravel the true circumstances surrounding the altercation.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to a viral audio-visual recording circulating on social media platforms, purportedly showing a senior Army officer and 2 other soldiers in an altercation with a man and woman within the Abuja metropolis.
“The circumstances leading to this incident are not clear at the moment. However, the Acting Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has ordered an immediate investigation to unravel the true circumstances surrounding this altercation.”
He added that the army remains committed to serving and protecting all law-abiding Nigerians as enshrined in the Constitution.
