Buhari orders military authorities to flush out criminals from system

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari gave the military the go-ahead to purge the armed services of any members with criminal tendencies.

The president issued the instruction in a statement that was released in Abuja by Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
He was responding to the killing of Sheikh Goni Aisami, an Islamic cleric with ties to the Yobe State, in the region.

Two soldiers have been detained in connection with the death of the cleric, the state police leadership had earlier on Tuesday revealed.

Police claimed that one of the troops Aisami offered a ride to murdered him.

Buhari reacted by denouncing the cleric’s senseless and heinous murder.

He said: “This barbaric murder of a compassionate man by a soldier he had assisted has no place in our training as soldiers.

“It negates the entire ethos of military life which is anchored on discipline and respect for the sanctity of innocent lives.

“As the Commander-in- Chief, I am personally outraged by this criminal and wicked act by a law enforcement official trained to protect life.

“By our training, we are guided by a code of conduct that frowns at this kind of reckless and criminal act. It is not in our character and training to put innocent citizens in harm’s way.

”Of course, the action of this soldier is an isolated incident involving an individual, but it is capable of staining the collective image of our military.

“This incident is capable of making our fellow citizens to be fearful of assisting soldiers, thereby destroying the bond of trust between our military and the civilians.”

The president, therefore, called on the military authorities to punish the perpetrators of this heinous crime without delay, and flush out other elements with such criminal tendencies.