The Nigerian Navy authorities have warned their officials to desist from all forms of brutality against civilians as they would no longer condone such complaints.
This was made known through the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin while delivering a speech to naval ratings and officers in Lagos state over the weekend.
He warned that any official caught manhandling a civilian and killing the civilian in the process would be summarily tried, dismissed and handed over to the police to face the full weight of the law, The Sun reports.
He advised the officers to relate well with civilians in order to foster goodwill and bring to an end the frequent complaints at the Naval Headquarters.
Lamenting the attitude of the naval officers towards the civilians, Jibrin said, “Our behaviour towards our civilian colleagues is a total embarrassment. Military men do not generate money, we depend on tax payers for salaries and these tax payers deserve our respect.”
He added that civilians were not the enemy of the nation, “they are citizens; our common enemy is Boko Haram, you are to fight Boko Haram and not civilians. You are to protect our civilians colleagues.”
On their conduct in the forthcoming general elections rescheduled for March 28, the Naval boss warned his officers to remain objective and unbiased.
“You are not card-carrying members of any political party, hence you must be loyal to the constitution,” Jibrin warned.
