Nigerian Army soldiers strip woman for wearing military camouflage fatigues in public

MEN of the Nigerian Army have stripped an unidentified woman naked after she was found to have worn military camouflage battle fatigues without authorisation from the relevant authorities.

A picture of the incident, which has been trending on the Internet, showed the victim being forced to pull down her trousers. One military man, who was supervising the unsavoury show, bent over the victim, who looked terrified and appeared to be begging another officer whose face was not revealed by the shot.

Although the identity of the supervising military officer was also shielded by his cap, the face of the lady at the centre of the drama was visible. So far, it has not been able to establish the time, place and circumstances surrounding the incident but available information showed the victim was harassed somewhere in the northern part of the country.

A large number of people, who reacted to the photo on different social media platforms condemned the incident, saying the victim was dehumanised. Sections 108, 109 and 110 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act which prescribe punishment for use of a military uniform do not criminalise the woman as she was not impersonating anyone.

One poster said the military were fond of intimidating civilians and they had no right to strip anyone simply for wearing camouflage.  Another posted said if the victim committed a crime, she was supposed to be taken in for questioning and not humiliated in the public.