“Attack On Uniformed Personnel Is An Attack On The State,” Says Former Defense Chief Irabor

Former Chief of Defense Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has expressed support for the closure of Banex Plaza in Abuja, saying that an attack on military personnel is an attack on the government.

He made this statement during an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday.

Recall that there was a disturbance at Banex Plaza, a telecommunications gadgets market in Abuja, following a confrontation between suspected thugs and some soldiers on Saturday.

A viral video seen on X  Saturday showed some civilians beating soldiers during a fight at Banex.

Irabor described the Banex Plaza incident as “very sad,” emphasizing that it would never be acceptable to beat a man in a uniform.

He said: “This applies to any uniformed person for as long as he is an agent of the state. An attack on him is an attack on the state, so any Nigerian of goodwill must condemn such an act.

“For me, I join to support the closure of Banex Plaza for as long as it takes to have anyone responsible for that dastardly act brought to justice. This is because if we fail to do so, we will be calling for anarchy.

“The only men who are sacrificing their lives to ensure our collective good are members of the armed forces, the police, and other security agencies.”

Irabor pointed out that things would have gotten worse and the country would have looked worse if it weren’t for the police officers and a few other ordinary citizens who came to the troops’ aid.

“The media has created an awareness that in our civics, there are people you must respect. You have to put the context in setting the agenda for this discussion.

“The populace needs to be re-educated to understand the place of national security and the responsibility of each and every one of us in preserving the sanctity of our various establishments that seek to make us live in a very good environment.”

In response to allegations that the army has declined to comment on the circumstances, he stated that the government needs to speak for them.

“Whatever job members of the armed forces do, it is not on their behalf but on behalf of the state, so they are only an agent of the state. They ought not to speak for themselves; the state should speak for them.

“It was a mild view, and it would have been harder, not necessarily from the army but from the appropriate agency of government, to be able to speak against such a dastardly act,” he said.

In order to hold the criminals accountable, Irabor urged Banex Plaza’s management to cooperate with the current investigation.

He said: “I believe Banex Plaza has leadership because they need to cooperate appropriately so that whatever investigation is ongoing can be concluded, and they must also cooperate by bringing out those who committed that act.”