This was disclosed in a statement by the Director, Legal Services of the Nigerian army, Brig-Gen Yusuf Shalangwa, when the Army appeared before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja.
It will be recalled that on August 8, a photograph of a man lying in the mud, with some soldiers standing over him was seen on the front page of a newspaper, which was subsequently investigated by the NHRC and reached out to the Army to identify and produce the soldiers involved in the act.
Shalangwa said;
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“We have identified the soldiers involved in the violation of the rights of the man and we hope to take appropriate actions.
“The report of our investigations will be made available to the commission. We will give everyone a fair hearing.”
He further gave assurance that anyone found guilty of torturing civilians would be adequately dealt with.
In his response, the Executive Secretary of NHRC, Prof. Ben Angwe, stressed the need for the NHRC and the Nigerian Army to map a way in guaranteeing that the rights of citizens are not violated.
“We will have about 300 soldiers for training on human rights; we are sure that after the training the misconception on the issue of human rights violations will be brought to an end.”
Angwe also said they were informed the victim was initially attacked by angry youths in Mararaba before the soldiers intervened.