The case of alleged extortion and violence blamed on four detained soldiers of the Armed Forces of Cote d’Ivoire (FACI), including a colonel has been referred to the Abidjan Military Detention Center (MAMA) APA learned Tuesday from a security source.
The soldiers were investigated for the alleged molestation of individuals from two camps in the west of the country and taking from them CFA5 million during the curfew.
“The prosecutor’s office was seized last weekend following information that residents of Pascalkro and Amedekro in the district of Duekoue were molested by elements of the FACI for non-compliance with the curfew and that CFA5 million were taken from them,” the Abidjan Military Court explained in a briefing.
It stressed that after the claims were verified, four elements of the army, including a colonel, were referred to the MAMA pending a judgment on their case.
According to the military prosecutor’s office in Abidjan, government Commissioner Ange Bernard Kessi, who has pledged to root out the “mafia and toxic groups” from the Ivorian army, described these claims as “fairly serious.”
On March 24, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara declared a state of emergency and imposed a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew across the country in order to break the chain of transmission of Covid-19.
626 cases of the disease have been confirmed so far in Cote d’Ivoire, including six deaths and 89 recoveries.
LB/ls/fss/as/APA