The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Major General Gold Chibuisi, has made it clear that while it is illegal for civilians to wear military uniforms, the Nigerian Army does not condone violence against those who break this law.
Speaking during a media chat with defence correspondents in Abuja on Saturday night, Maj. Gen. Chibuisi said soldiers must act with professionalism when dealing with such cases.
“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,” he said.
He explained that while civilians must respect the law by not wearing military outfits, soldiers also have a duty to handle offenders properly.
“But that’s one part of it. Let people stop it. The other part is what we do, what our troops do when they see somebody dressed in a military uniform. You’re supposed to just get the person to remove it, arrest, and hand it over to the police, basically for persecution. All these other things that come with it are not right. And we are doing sensitisation on them,” he added.
Chibuisi admitted that some soldiers had faced strict sanctions for assaulting civilians caught in military attire.
“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 said.
The Major General appealed to Nigerians to steer clear of military uniforms unless they are authorised to wear them. According to him, respecting the uniform upholds the law and builds trust between the military and the citizens.
He also raised concerns about criminals who disguise themselves in military uniforms to commit crimes, making it harder to tell genuine soldiers apart 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.
Chibuisi encouraged families and communities to help spread the message at home.
“If somebody you know is not in the military comes out in the morning, and he wants to jog or drive somewhere wearing our uniform, you should tell him not to,” he advised.
Emphasising the importance of good civil-military relations, he reminded the public that the Army is a people’s army.
“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,” Chibuisi said.
He also revealed that the Army is stepping up efforts to educate both its personnel and the public to promote better understanding and respect on both sides.
“We are fine-tuning the conduct of our personnel. And I believe as we keep interacting, the relationship will continue to improve,” he said.
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