The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs (Army), Major General Gold Chibuisi, has condemned the harassment and assault of civilians unlawfully wearing military uniforms, emphasizing that while such acts are illegal, the Nigerian Army does not condone violence against offenders.
Speaking during a media chat with Defence correspondents on Saturday night in Abuja, Maj. Gen. Chibuisi stressed that although it is against Nigerian law for non-military personnel to wear military uniforms, soldiers must handle such cases professionally and lawfully.
“I’m surprised that in most briefs we give in our programmes, we always talk about this uniform issue because it keeps recurring. It’s against the law of the land. If you are not in the armed forces, please don’t use our uniform, whether you love it or not," Chibuisi said.
He emphasized that soldiers encountering civilians in military uniform should simply arrest them and hand them over to the police for prosecution, without resorting to violence.
“You’re supposed to just get the person to remove it, arrest, and hand it over to the police, basically for prosecution. All these other things that come with it are not right. And we are doing sensitisation on them," he added.
Major General Chibuisi disclosed that many soldiers had been sternly sanctioned for assaulting civilians found wearing military camouflage illegally.
“Those that we find and there is evidence that they did that, we always sanction them sternly. And we’ll continue to do that,” he affirmed.
He also appealed to Nigerians to refrain from wearing military uniforms illegally, highlighting that respecting military symbols is crucial for strengthening national security and public trust in the military.
Chibuisi pointed out that criminals increasingly exploit military uniforms to perpetrate crimes, complicating efforts to distinguish genuine soldiers from impostors.
“Currently, there are a lot of criminals using military garb to perpetrate crime. If people keep dressing like that, how do you differentiate between a criminal and a genuine soldier?” he asked.
He called on families and communities to help in sensitizing individuals at the grassroots level.
“If somebody you know is not in the military and he wants to jog or drive somewhere wearing our uniform, you should tell him not to," he advised.
Major General Chibuisi further reminded the public that the Army belongs to the Nigerian people and should be seen as part of their families, not as distant or fearsome.
“There is no army that doesn’t want itself to be seen as working for the people. We are the Nigerian Army. The Nigerian people own us," he said.
As part of efforts to enhance civil-military relations, Chibuisi revealed that the Nigerian Army is strengthening its sensitisation campaigns both internally among troops and externally to the wider public.
"We are fine-tuning the conduct of our personnel. And I believe as we keep interacting, the relationship will continue to improve," he concluded.
