Army Cautions Civilians Against Wearing Military Uniforms
•By Admin
LAGOS – The Department of Civil-Military Affairs of the Nigerian Army has cautioned Nigerians to avoid wearing military uniforms illegally, saying that respecting the uniform is an important part of strengthening national security.
It stressed that the misuse of military accoutrements by unauthorised persons does not only violate the law but also aids criminal activities, noting that heeding such advice will build trust between the military and the public.
The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Nigerian Army, Gold Chibuisi, a major general, handed down this caution in Abuja at the weekend during a roundtable with defence correspondents.
“I’m a bit surprised that most briefs we give in our programmes, we always talk about this issue of uniform because it keeps recurring.
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“It’s against the law of the land. If you are not in the armed forces or the security agencies, to use their uniform — whether you love it or not — is a crime,” the senior military officer said.
Chibuisi stressed that the law must be respected to maintain the integrity and safety of the armed forces, warning that offenders could face jail time.
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“If you like the military, join the military. Don’t wear our uniform if you are not one of us,” CCMA added.
Highlighting the security risks, Chibuisi noted that criminals increasingly exploit military uniforms to commit crimes, making it harder for civilians and security agencies to identify genuine soldiers.
He said: “Currently, there are a lot of criminals using military garb to perpetrate crime. If people keep dressing like that, how do you differentiate between a criminal and a genuine soldier?”
He urged families and communities to help with sensitization from the home level.
“If somebody you know is not in the military comes out in the morning, and he wants to jog or drive to Shoprite wearing our uniform, you tell your boy, ‘Wait, you don’t join the army, remove this thing, I beg.’ Make sure they don’t catch you,” he said.
The general further explained that soldiers are trained to arrest civilians caught wearing military gear and hand them over to the police for prosecution.
“All these other things that come with it — harassment or rough handling — are not right. And we are doing sensitisation on them. Those that we find, that we get evidence against, we always sanction them sternly,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of preventing the offence before it occurs: “One side is for our soldiers to do the right thing when they see it, but the other side is for civilians not to do it at all. Spare us from all that.”
Drawing a sharp distinction between Nigeria and other countries, Chibuisi added, “This is not America. You can’t say because someone wears it in America, you can wear it here. Moreover, the challenges we are having here, I don’t think they have in America.”