Soldiers Appeal Dismissal Over Rapes

Four dismissed soldiers, who were found guilty of misdemeanour involving rape and extortion by the authorities of the Guards Brigade of the Nigerian Army, have appealed to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Azubuike Ihejirika, for clemency.

The leader of the accused soldiers, a 33-year-old Akwa Ibom State-born Corporal, Nse (surname withheld), cried out to the Ihejirika for mercy, saying he was pushed into the act by “the enemy.”

The dismissed corporal, who was the leader of troops deployed to protect an Airtel mast at Wuse zone II, Abuja in December 2012, when the troops committed the crime said he was married and had two children.

He said, “Please what happened has happened; this is the first time I am involved in such a thing. The Chief of Army Staff should please forgive us. Some of us have children; it is the handiwork of the enemy.”

I am from Akwa Ibom, my name is Nse, I am 33 and married with two children: a boy and a girl; they should forgive us. This is the first time I have been involved in a thing like this.”