The Nigerian Army has vowed to punish its personnel who were caught on camera Saturday mistreating civilians they said are suspected armed robbers.

A photograph of the incident was published in the Monday edition of Abuja-based Daily Trust newspaper.

The shocking photograph was made public at a time the Nigerian military is battling to extricate itself from allegations of gross human rights abuses.

The spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, a colonel, said the action of the soldiers caught maltreating civilians on Saturday has done incalculable damage to the image of the service, and is at variance with military ethics and professionalism.

Mr. Usman said the perpetrators had been identified and would be punished accordingly.

The Army spokesperson however criticised Daily Trust over what it called “poor and worrisome editorial judgement by giving this misdemeanour prominence in their paper”.

“Alerting appropriate Nigerian Army authorities would have been a better option that will be met with prompt response,” Mr. Sani said.

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