Two yet-to-be-identified soldiers of the Nigerian Army have called out the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for ordering the arrest of their colleague caught riding against traffic on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
Pulse reported how the Governor reenacted a scene that endeared one of his predecessors, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to many Lagosians when he ordered the arrest of the erring soldier alongside three other motorcyclists on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
The incident happened during Sanwo-Olu's trip to the Lagos State University (LASU) campus in Ojo, where he commissioned the Femi Gbajabiamila Conference Centre.
In a viral video, the Governor was seen ordering his security detail, believed to be DSS officials, to arrest one of the errant motorcyclists who claimed to be a soldier, vowing that he was going to lock him up.
"Put him there. Let your father come and rescue you," he ordered, while the arrested motorcyclist said, "I'm a soldier, Oga sir," to which Sanwo-Olu replied, "That's even more reason I'm going to lock you up."
Soldiers fire back at Sanwo-Olu
Meanwhile, appearing in a viral video on Thursday, one of the aggrieved soldiers faulted the Governor for humiliating his colleague in the presence of "bastard civilians."
While justifying his colleague's action of flouting the state's traffic rule, he argued that the Governor had no right to arrest a soldier, especially in front of his barracks.
"Did I just hear your governor calling a soldier, lance corporal useless? a lance corporal...This man broke his arm, they fired at the man. There is iron in his hands," the angry soldier said in the video.
Continuing, he said, "You are calling a soldier useless in front of those idiots, those bastard civilians. DSS was pushing a soldier. In any situation where you find yourself as a soldier, the Army only gives you five seconds to compose yourself, so after that, you must know how to reply to any attack or anything that comes your way.
"Because he is a governor, I know he (arrested soldier) was shocked that the governor was arresting him. I know I am not perfect and I am not saying I am but in any situation I find myself, especially beside your barracks, nobody can arrest you. I repeat, nobody can arrest you because you have to stand your grand and nobody will slap you there.
"No DSS or police can slap you because you refuse to go. Why will you arrest me when there are IP and military police?
"Okay, will it be because I took one way beside my barracks? What if I just took the bike out to buy something? Do I have to take the long route because I want to buy something? Who does that? In which Amy?"
In a separate video that surfaced late Thursday, another soldier was seen condemning the Governor's action while directing unprintable remarks at him.
"You're calling a soldier useless and if you want to do your dirty job you will call soldiers. You're mad. And all of you wey dey comment stupid, your stupid," the unnamed soldier said.
The soldier, who lamented that his colleagues were being paid paltry salaries, also claimed that the bad state of the road left his colleague with no choice but to ply one way.
Comments