Calabar, Nigeria – Soldiers of the Nigerian Army numbering seven have allegedly beat up a University of Calabar (UNICAL) student for wearing tinted hair.
Converseer reports that the soldiers led by one Sgt Maria Okoi also manhandled the 19-year-old female student from the Department of Botany, for responding to questions with good English.
The incident happened on Wednesday night, November 27, 2024, around Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Bypass Roundabout, Akai-Effa, Calabar Municipality, where the girl resides.
Narrating her ordeal on Saturday, the student, Everister Paul, who was severely injured on her head, said Sgt Okoi hit her head with the butt of her gun, adding that the soldiers (seven in number) slapped, kicked and dragged her, tearing her clothes to shreds.
Everister further alleged that the soldiers equally beat up her mother after her younger sister, who was with her all these while, ran home and raised the alarm to their parents. When the father, Paul Agbahime, a Police Inspector, tried to intervene, “a soldier cocked her gun and thundered that she had been ordered to shoot, dispersing the crowd who had gathered to find out what was going on.”
HIT FM’s Ebube Bruno who went to the scene with human rights lawyer and Principal Counsel of Basic Rights Counsel Initiative (BRCI), James Ibor Esq., confirmed from three different sources that the incident indeed took place, with witnesses identifying Sergeant Maria Okoi and the leader of the soldiers who abetted the crime while it lasted.
When contacted, Captain Jemila Jimoh, spokesperson of the 13th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Calabar, confirmed the incident, adding that the Military Police are investigating the matter, promising to keep the public updated.
On his part, Ibor expressed concern over the growing criminality among military personnel carrying out Police duties.
According to the human rights lawyer, the Nigerian Military is inept and actively enabling the criminality. He called on the Attorney General to rise to the occasion and ensure that justice is served.
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