Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Nigerian Army has arrested two soldiers captured in a viral video threatening to rape women in Delta State.
The two soldiers in the 26-second video claimed that a soldier was killed on Thursday by residents of Warri, Delta State. The soldiers said in the video they would attack Warri women as a ‘revenge’.
The video surfaced after the killing of a 28-year-old man on Thursday in Warri and the subsequent clash between the residents and the soldiers who were enforcing the stay-at-home order by the Delta State government to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The police in Delta said the slain man, identified as Joseph Pessu, was killed by the soldiers. The police however denied that a soldier was killed in the state.
“Warri people, una don buy job! Una kill soldier, baa?” one of the soldiers wearing a military camouflage in the video said in Pidgin English.
“Your mother…. I’ll make sure she carry HIV! Your daughters will carry HIV, your wives will carry HIV!”
The police in Delta State said the video was detestable and looked like something that could have been produced by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. The video, the police said, was being investigated.
The Nigerian Army in a Twitter post on Friday night said the soldiers in the video have been arrested at 9 Brigade Ikeja Military Cantonment Lagos and that they are being investigated.
The army did not reveal the identity and rank of the arrested soldiers.
“The general public should be assured that the investigations will be swift and fair in accordance with applicable military laws.
The outcome of the investigations will determine the most appropriate disciplinary measures that can be taken in the circumstances,” the army said via its Twitter handle @HQNigerianArmy.
The army said it would not tolerate “any form of irresponsibility and indiscipline” from its officers.