The House of Representatives on Wednesday invited the Chief of Defense and the Chief of Army Staff to appear before the House to explain the circumstances behind the unprovoked attack on Hon. Kpam Sokpo.
The lawmakers are also asking why military officers on the said day of incident did not carry proper identification or inform the civilians about their mission to Old Barn Hotel, Gboko, Benue state, venue of the attack.
The House also mandated the Committee on Army to ensure compliance and report to the House within two (2) weeks.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Need to Investigate the Assault on Residents of Gboko and Guests of Old Barn Hotel, Gboko by Men of the 401 Special Forces Brigade of the Nigerian Army.” Brought by Hon. Mark Gbillah.
In moving the motion, the Lawmaker noted that the primary duties of the Nigerian Army as enshrined in Section 217 subsection (2) (a)-(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is to defend Nigeria from external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity, suppress insurrection and aid civil authorities to restore order subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
“The House is concerned by the worsening spate of military and police brutality, extra-judicial killings by security operatives on civilians and unarmed Nigerians.
While noting the assault carried on Hon. Sokpo, the Lawmaker representing Buruku constituency in the 9th National Assembly, Gbilah said that the unfortunate incidence took place on Saturday 18 March 2023 at Old Barn Hotel, Gboko in Benue State, where at about 2:30 am, men of the 401 Division of the Nigerian Army viciously assaulted and brutalized several persons and guests.
He said, these military men, numbering over 20 stormed the hotel in Nigerian Army trucks and dressed on military uniforms but without any identifiers such as name tags, any form of personal identity or ranks.
According to Gbilah, the military men ordered all persons within view to move, gather in groups and squat on the ground without explanation of such cruel and inhuman treatment.
The Lawmaker worried that in the course of obeying the Army Officers’ commands, one of the soldiers accosted the Honourable and slapped him.
He said, despite introducing himself as a serving member of the House of Representatives, the soldier rather poured more invectives on the Honourable and ordered his subordinates to slap him and in an attempt to defend himself from the unprovoked assault, about 20 soldiers pounced on him and others with guns and brutally assaulted them, this resulted in serious injuries on his head, face, shoulders, chest, back, both arms, and legs.
Gbilah noted that this same team of soldiers were allegedly responsible for the extrajudicial killings of at least two persons in Gboko in two separate instances on the same day.
According to him, since the attack, several media outlets particularly, Leadership Sunday, The Sunday Sun, Daily Trust and Vanguard Newspapers of Sunday, 19th March 2023 were awash with defamatory
reports and images falsely linking the assault on Hon. Sokpo to Electoral violence.
“Desirous of the need to re-enforce its statutory role of ensuring the security and welfare of the people as the primary purpose of government.
The House therefore Urged the Chiefs of Defense and Army Staff to commence comprehensive investigation of the
incident (ensuring evidence is obtained from civilian witnesses) with the view to identifying the soldiers that were responsible for this mayhem.
And to also appear before its Committee
to explain the military’s rules of engagement during election monitoring and other
engagements with the civilian population, especially considering the extrajudicial killing of two young men in Gboko by the same 401 Special Forces Brigade on 18th March 2023 for alleged ballot snatching.
And to also brief the House about actions currently taken by military authorities to investigate the unprovoked assault on residents of Gboko, including Hon. Kpam Jimin Sokpo and the shooting to death of two persons in Gboko on 18 March 2023.
