Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya, on Tuesday, decried the rising cases of sexual abuses in military formations across the country.

This, he blamed on the absence of the soldiers at the barracks, who are away on official assignment outside the barracks to protect and defend the country.

The Chief of Army Staff stated this in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, at the 2021 Conference of Nigerian Armed Forces Catholic Chaplains.

The theme of the conference was, ‘The role of military chaplains in present-day challenges of insecurity and moral decadence’.

Represented by the Commandant of the Nigeria Army School of Military Engineering, Brigadier General Mark Mamman, the COAS said that the soldiers were always away from their families while doing their assigned duties to protect the nation’s citizens from external and internal forces.

According to COAS, “It is worthy to note that the Armed forces is over-stretched in all ramifications, with the various areas of restiveness to cover and manpower to deploy.

“Most of our gallant officers and soldiers spend their year-round in the bushes and frontlines away from their families.

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It is pertinent to note that most of our barracks and formations are gradually being flooded with cases of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. Thus, your theme for this Combined Conference, ‘Protection/Safeguarding of Minors and Vulnerable Adults in NA Formations: The Role of the Chaplain’, is important to address the causes and solutions to such menace.

“The horrible effect of experiencing abuse and neglect in childhood can lead to adverse outcome in adulthood. The consequences of experiencing child abuse do vary considerably. For some adults, the effects of child abuse and neglect are chronic and debilitating, which can lead to debased character and behaviour. As such, this can create a strong negative hole in the family life of military personnel,” he said.

“For us in the Armed Forces, we must call to mind always that the noble task of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation while also being proactively involved in aid of our civil authority is our prime responsibility. It is therefore encouraging to see you as members of the Armed Forces gathered for a combined conference to find a solution together towards our common problem,” he added.