Okuama: We Are Allowed To Arrest, Interrogate Civilians

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has said the military is authorised to arrest and interrogate civilians.

In an interview with Arise News on Wednesday, Musa stated that the military is not overstepping its authority by investigating civilians connected to the killing of soldiers in the Okuama community.

He said the army is not acting unlawfully or taking matters into its own hands because it is legally deployed and authorised to make arrests and to interrogate.

Musa said a Joint Task Force, which involves members of the armed forces, the police and every other security agency, is investigating the murder of the soldiers.

He said: “We are happy that the Commander in Chief has given us a mandate to recover the arms to arrest the perpetrators. A lot of comments have been made by different kinds of people, some from lack of understanding.

“When you have a Joint Task Force, Joint Task Force involves members of the armed forces, that is the army, navy airforce, we have the police, the DSS, every other security agency is part of it. So when we have arrests, we have a joint investigation team, it is not like the army is taking laws into their hands. Once we are deployed on operation, we have the right and the mandate to arrest all acts of criminality within that area.

“They were legally deployed and with their mandate, they are authorised to make arrests, they are authorised to interrogate, because we have a joint interrogation centre that works together as a team under the Joint Task Force.”