Abuja’s not for me – Man tortured by cadets

Sunday Amari, the 25-year-old man, who was brutalised by some army cadets in Abuja, says the Federal Capital Territory is not the place for him.

He told our correspondent on Tuesday that although he had forgiven his assailants and relocated to Lagos, the Federal Government needed to urgently do something about the attitude of men and women in uniform.

He added that he was disappointed the Nigerian Army authorities had yet to apologise to him.

Amari said the degree of the injuries he sustained from the beating forced him to quit his job in Abuja and relocated to Lagos.


He said, “Till now, I still feel pains in my neck and head. The incident cost me my job. It is my brother who has been taking care of me because the teaching job I applied for in Lagos has not come through. I have forgiven the officers, but I want them and others to be taught on how to relate with people.”

Recalling the torture, Amadi said he was beaten up for his inability to run a distance of about 150 meters within eight seconds as ordered by the cadets.

The video of Amari’s brutality went viral recently, revealing how some cadets in uniform dragged him on the ground and subjected him to dehumanising treatment.

Amari, who studied Primary Education at the FCT College of Education, Zuba, worked with Subsidy Re-investment Programme before the incident.

He said he was on duty at the Jabi Lake Park on that day when the power-drunk cadet officers stormed in, picked on a man and allegedly beat him up.

He said, “While I was on duty at the park on December 31, 2014, around 6pm, about nine cadets came. They confronted a man and started beating him. I don’t know his offence. I was looking at them from afar when a cadet ordered me to run a distance of about 100 meters in five seconds to where he was.

“When I got there, his colleague, a woman, ordered me to run to where she was within three seconds. When I got there, she said I did not meet up with the three seconds.”

The Benue indigene said the woman cadet gave him multiple slaps for failing to meet the time-frame.

“She slapped me. When I rubbed the spot, she slapped me again and again. I pleaded with her that I work with the Federal Government and she should let me identify myself. She said FG her foot, and kept on slapping me.

“As the slapping continued, I looked at the ground and started crying. I was afraid to challenge her. My colleagues in that park had fled. She got tired at a point and told me to look up. She told me to look at her face and describe what I saw.

“When I refused to talk, she slapped me again. Eventually, I said I saw beauty. She told her colleagues that I admired her. But I said so to reduce the beating not knowing it was the beginning. They beat me up and dragged me to where the man they were initially beating was. They gave us punishments and told me to remove my cloth. Before I could do so, they said I was late. They hit me repeatedly untill I fainted. That was all I knew until I found myself in a nearby hospital. I was afraid to report the matter to the police. In fact, my fear for soldiers has doubled. I don’t want to be near them.”

The brother, James, urged the army to investigate the incident and fish out those involved in the act.

He said, “I love to meet those cadets in person. They need to explain why he (Amari) was beaten up. I have been expecting the army authorities to do something about it.”

The spokesperson for Nigerian Defence Academy, Capt. Musa Yahaya, said investigation was ongoing on the incident.

“We have issued a press release immediately the video was out. We are still investigating the case,” he said.