The Nigerian Army has said the unidentified female soldier who accepted a corps member proposal at the National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp in Yikpata, Kwara State, will be punished for failing to observe military rules and regulations.
This was disclosed by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, during an interview with The Punch on Sunday.
According to Nwachukwu, he said the female officer violated the military laws by getting involved in a public display of amorous relationships with a paramilitary trainee – a corps member while in the orientation camp.
Last week, a trendy video surfaced online showing a male corps member proposing to a female soldier at the Kwara State NYSC camp, the video has since caused different responses on social media.
In one of the clips, the yet-to-be-identified corps member was seen holding a ring as he knelt to ask the female soldier to marry him.
Also in the clip, the visibly excited female officer in military uniform was seen, accepting the young graduate’s proposal and the latter went on to put in the ring in his love interest’s finger.
It was also gathered from the clip, how the two lovebirds were seen in a warm embrace and kisses as other corps members poured in compliments.
Speaking against the incident, the Army spokesperson said the female soldier violated the Nigerian Army’s rules and regulations guiding the codes of conduct of military personnel when deployed for duty.
He said the female soldier’s action amounted to taking advantage of her trainee, stating that the public would have been infuriated and condemned the Army of intimidation had a male soldier proposed to a female copper during the NYSC parade.
In his words, he said “Personnel must have served for three years before he/she can qualify for marriage.
“She disobeyed the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s standing guidelines and directives for the use of Social Media. Indulging in romance while in uniform.
“Her conduct was prejudicial to good order and military discipline.
“All the above, if proven violate extant laws with attendant disciplinary and penal implications.
“As personnel, her task was to train the Youth Corps members and not to indulge in amorous relationships with any of them. These rules were put in place for proper administration and discipline in the Army. If I may ask, what if the soldier was a male? How would the public have perceived his action? It would have been perceived as taking advantage of a female Corper, a trainee, put in his care for training.”
When asked the kind of punishment the female soldier may get, the Army spokesman, though, refused comments but said “the Nigerian Military like all others, has its disciplinary codes, distinct from that of the general society. All personnel has voluntarily undertaken to be bound by this code.”
Meanwhile, the incident occurred some three months after a female soldier, Lt. Chika Anele, dehumanized a female corps member, Ifenyinwa Ezeiruaku, at the 13 Brigade headquarters, Calabar, Cross River State.
In September 2021, in a viral video, Anele ordered the corps member, who was in her uniform to kneel as she used a bowl to scoop muddy water from a bucket and poured the same on her.
The Army had condemned the action and said the soldier would be tried for unprofessional conduct but it had yet to conclude the trial public.
The NYSC scheme was created in May 1973 by the former head of state, Yakubu Gowon, as a tool for healing, reconciliation, and nation-building after the horrible experience of the civil war between the Biafran side and the Nigerian State.
The scheme enables the posting of graduates to states other than their state of origin as they are expected to mix with people from different ethnic groups, social and family backgrounds, and learn the culture of the indigenes in the location they are posted to.
The young graduates are camped for three weeks and are drilled in paramilitary skills by soldiers before they are deployed to their places of primary assignments.
But in the last couple of years, Nigeria’s security challenges worsen, some critics have called for the discontinuation of the scheme speaking of the kidnapping and killing of intelligent corps members but the government has defended the continued existence of the scheme, saying it is still fulfilling its objective as a pathway for ethnic integration.
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