Military investigates personnel for assaulting suspects in Zamfara

The Nigerian Air Force said on Sunday that it had set up a board of inquiry to investigate its personnel culpable in the assault of some suspected bandits in the Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The Air Force noted that the personnel arrested the bandits at Sububu Forest hideout whilst the suspects were about to attack civilians in Shinkafi.

The personnel, however, allegedly flogged and physically assaulted the suspects, which was secretly filmed and went viral on the internet. 

Our correspondent learnt that the Air Force men and soldiers after recovering one AK-47 rifle and three dane guns from the bandits, beat them almost to unconsciousness in the viral video.

The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said on Sunday that the board of inquiry would determine “the remote and immediate causes of the incident with a view to ensuring that appropriate disciplinary action is taken against all NAF personnel found culpable.”

 The attention has been drawn to some military personnel flogging suspected bandits at the Shinkafi LGA in Zamfara. The NAF has discovered that some of its personnel were part of the joint team stationed at the Galadi Sub-Sector at the time.

“The troops’ actions of flogging and physically assaulting the disarmed suspects were totally unacceptable and not in consonance with the Standing Operating Procedures guiding the conduct of the operation.

“The NAF has zero tolerance for such human rights violations and has since initiated appropriate action to address the anomaly. In this regard, a Board of Inquiry has been set up by the Headquarters, Special Operations Command to determine the remote and immediate causes of the incident with a view to ensuring that appropriate disciplinary action is taken against all NAF personnel found culpable.