By Ali Elias
The Nigerian Army has issued a strong warning to civilians against the illegal use of military uniforms, describing the practice as unlawful and dangerous to national security.
The caution was delivered by the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Major General Gold Chibuisi, during a roundtable with defence correspondents in Abuja over the weekend.
“It’s against the law of the land. If you are not in the armed forces or the security agencies, to use their uniform—whether you love it or not—is a crime,” he said.
Chibuisi emphasized that unauthorised wearing of military attire not only violates the law but also poses a serious risk to the safety of civilians and security personnel. He explained that criminals increasingly disguise themselves in military gear to perpetrate crimes, making it difficult to distinguish between genuine personnel and impostors.
“Currently, there are a lot of criminals using military garb to perpetrate crime. If people keep dressing like that, how do you differentiate between a criminal and a genuine soldier?” he asked.
He urged communities and families to help curb the trend by correcting offenders before they are apprehended by authorities.
“If somebody you know is not in the military comes out in the morning, and he wants to jog or drive to Shoprite wearing our uniform, you tell your boy, ‘Wait, you don’t join the army, remove this thing, I beg.’ Make sure they don’t catch you,” Chibuisi advised.
While soldiers are trained to arrest offenders and hand them over to the police, Chibuisi stressed the Army’s effort to address excessive force. “Those that we find, that we get evidence against, we always sanction them sternly,” he said.
He concluded with a stern reminder about respecting Nigeria’s unique security context. “This is not America. You can’t say because someone wears it in America, you can wear it here. Moreover, the challenges we are having here, I don’t think they have in America.”