The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has backed the Nigerian Army for detaining a female soldier who accepted marriage proposal from a member of the corps in uniform while at the orientation camp in Yikpata, Kwara.
The incident has since generated outrage from the public, with many calling for the release of the soldier.
But the director-general of NYSC Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said the army would not allow any violation of military traditions.
According to him, corps members have to respect and abide by the customs and traditions of the military in the pursuit of their interests with members of the armed forces.
Ibrahim said although the NYSC encouraged corps members to seek national unity and integration through inter-tribal marriages, caution should not be thrown to the wind.
He said, “Every organisation has its own customs and traditions, and we have to abide by such. We, on our part, have spoken to our corps members.
“We encourage them to inter-marry, but we have never had a situation where a corps member will go and propose to a soldier.
“The army has its own tradition and it will not joke with it. So, we always tell our corps members to play by the rules.
“I can assure that the army as an institution is built on its customs and traditions, and anything that will impinge on discipline, it will not take it lightly.”
