Photo: Vanguard

Nigeria military personnel.

Four soldiers found guilty of raping women and stealing their valuables in Abuja were yesterday dismissed from the army.

The ex-soldiers, who were attached to the Guards Brigade, were deployed to patrol specific places in Abuja using a new patrol van.

The soldiers allegedly resorted to raping girls including married women and stealing their monies and other valuables.

A source in the army said: "They usually began chasing their victims in the middle of the night, forcing them into their van before they took them to secluded areas in the central business district. In some instances, they bullied the victims before raping and stealing their monies."

The soldiers are Corporal Nse Eyedip (married), Emeze Uzonna (single), Ugwu Mathew (single) and Efosa Ikhuomoregbe (single).

Major Peter Elayo, who announced the dismissal of the suspects, said they received testimonies from "three women in the cause of the investigation" adding that they "expect to hear from more."

He said the Brigade Comman-der, Brigadier General Emmanuel Atewe, constituted a board of inquiry to probe the case.

"On Monday, January 14, it was reported that some of our soldiers in the Federal Capital Territory abducted and raped some women at Wuse 2, Abuja last December 2012. We got the detailed report which was used to trace the soldiers in question. The commander immediately convened a board of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding this grave allegation with a view to taking punitive action and prevent future reoccurrence."

Elayo said the report of the board already submitted established that the four soldiers abandoned their duty post to an unauthorized destination.