The soldier who got into a verbal altercation with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu over his colleague’s apprehension for single-handed driving has been taken into custody, according to Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja.
He said that the aforementioned soldier does not speak for the Nigerian Army and promised to look into any regulations violations seriously.
Following his visit to the 82 division headquarters, Lagbaja briefly spoke with reporters in Enugu State and said:
“I want to say that the soldier that was apprehended by the governor of Lagos does not represent Nigerian Army. In every respect, he contravened what we stand for, which is discipline as an army and he contravened the Constitution and the laws of Lagos State. And so, we frown at that as an army.
“But on what you have alleged that soldiers have gone to the social media casting aspersion on the office and person of the governor of Lagos, I will say, it’s only one soldier that has done that.
“The army has investigated. That soldier has been apprehended. And we’re investigating. For every other comical act that you are seeing on social media, they’re not personnel of the Nigerian Army. We have investigated that. From the mode of the dressing of some of them, you will know that they are not personnel of the Nigerian Army.
“One of them was wearing the cap badge upside down. You know that is not the personnel of the Nigerian Army.
“An officer can never do that. From the utterances that some of these people made, you will know that the angle from which they’re talking from was politics. So, we leave it at that.”
“For the ones that pertains to the army, we’re investigating. It’ll be treated accordingly.
“Even this morning as I arrived Enugu, the chief of army administration, sent me a draft directive that he was sending down to all formations and units of the Nigerian Army to further sensitize our troops on the need to be discipline and abide with the laws of every community where they’re deployed.
“So, we’re serious about upholding laws, rules and remaining discipline. We will enforce that on our personnel”