THE army’s trial and punishment of Lance Corporal Sunday Ayodeji should be commended for the possibilities it holds for army-civilian relationships.  The army said it was not party to its personnel misbehaving in public and challenged the public to alert authorities of further breaches.

Last week Thursday, Ayodeji of the army workshop Ikeja, fought officials  of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, and the Task Force on the Environment who stopped him for plying the Bus Rapid Transport, BRT, lane. The lane is reserved for state-owned buses.

Major-General Kenneth Minimah, the General Officer Commanding 81 Division Nigeria Army, announced the court-martial and conviction of Ayodeji. He would be handed over to Lagos State authorities for prosecution.

“The Nigerian Army is a human organisation. As human beings, we have our share of bad eggs. It is not a perfect organisation and no other organisation is perfect either. We would pursue better civil-military relations to its logical end. The soldier who was involved in the BRT offence the other day has been dismissed from service and he would eventually be handed over to the Lagos State task force for prosecution,” Minimah.

“That is a far-reaching warning for others who may want to take the law into their hands and breach the laws of the state, we will not condone that. The Nigerian Army is a professional organisation. Whoever disobeys the laws would be dealt with appropriately. The Nigeria Army is subordinate to the Constitution of Nigeria and the state laws.”

Also involved in the fight was Bada Adenuga, a Warrant Officer of the Nigeria Air Force. Minimah said the army had forwarded its investigation to the Air Force to take action on Adenuga.

LASTMA officers wanted to tow the soldier’s vehicle for violating the BRT lane in the Obanikoro area of Lagos. The timely intervention of Sanusi Muazu, Commandant of the Ikeja Cantonment prevented bloodshed. Last May 22, the police and army fought themselves after the police shot an army sergeant Maku Kuti dead. The clashes that lasted days claimed lives, including civilians, resulted from an argument after police stopped Kuti at a checkpoint.

Soldiers have difficulty subjecting themselves to civil laws. Efforts to enforce the laws on them result in the sort of commotion that occurred in Obanikoro. If the soldiers were armed, chances are that lives would have been lost.

The army deserves commendation for acting promptly on Ayodeji. There are others like him who when serving as escorts – usually on illegal duty – assume powers for the benefit of those who hired their illegal services.

Major General Minimah addressed that subject too. According to him, the army had set up a team to arrest the offenders. It would be important that these measures are extended to other parts of the country where military and security personnel are their own law.

Years of military rule left some of them with an exaggerated notion of their importance. They believe they are superior to civilians. They never miss opportunities to exhibit this superiority through flagrant disobedience of laws.

More education of military and security personnel on obeying civil laws will produce better results and save the careers of others who are prone to act like Ayodeji.