The Nigerian Army Wednesday handed over to the Abia State Police Command Lance Corporal Ajayi Johnson who reportedly shot to death a motorcyclist Chimaobi Nwaogu at Umuokereke Ngwa on 7th August 2019.
“In keeping with our earlier promise, the dismissed soldier has been handed over to Abia State Police Command on Wednesday 21 August 2019 for further investigation and civil prosecution for murder if found culpable,” the deputy director army public relations of the 82 division of the Nigerian Army Enugu Colonel Aliyu Yusuf said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Nigerian Army as a professional organization places high premium on the sanctity of human lives and will not condone any act of unprofessional conduct among its personnel.”
Yusuf stated that Johnson was handed over to the Abia State Police Commissioner Ene Okon in his office in Umuahia by the Commander of the 14 Brigade of the Nigeria Army based at Ohafia Abia State Brigadier General S. B. Kumakpayi.
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The police commissioner said that Johnson’s handover has now made police investigation in the matter easier.
Yusuf affirmed that before Johnson was handed over to the Police, he was tried according to the extant rules and regulations of the Nigerian Army which stipulated that if found wanting, appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against such military officer.
He said that before handing him over to the Police, Lance Corporal Johnson “was charged, tried, reduced in rank to private and subsequently dismissed from service.”
Yusuf noted that the force will continue to assist in the protection of lives and property in line with the Nigerian constitution.
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