It is an everyday occurrence that the men of the military take it as a serious affront when they find a civilian using the army green colour, a colour that is said to have been specifically reserved for them and they don’t hesitate to make sure that the person meets his waterloo. The military go as far as beating, harassing, intimidating and melting all kinds of punishment on the unfortunate civilian they catch “flying” their colour or using the camouflage.
In Nigeria, the army green is the colour that is claimed to have been specifically reserved for the military men and it is hence regarded as the army colour and any civilian found using or wearing that colour within the territory of Nigeria is an usurper who is looking for troubles.
The everyday news of the men of the armed forces manhandling any civilian they caught using the army green color which is regarded as their colour has made people question the rationale and the legality behind this act. Citizens have asked lawyers and those knowledgeable of the law, if there’s a law to that effect that specifically prohibits any person other than the military men using the army green color, or any law specifically reserving that colour for the military men within the confines of Nigeria or the military men are just taking laws into their hands by restricting people from using the color green just like secret cult groups that restrict individuals who are not members of that secret cult from “flying” their colours which they chose and reserve for themselves alone.
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Yes!, there’s a law in Nigeria that reserved the colour of army green for the men or armed forces alone and thereby prohibiting the use of such colour by civilians.
The Army Colour (Prohibition of Use) Act is the extant law in Nigeria which is still in force up till this very moment that prohibits civilians from using the colour of army green as that colour has been reserved specifically for the use of the men of the armed forces.
S.1 of the act (The army colour prohibition of use act) clearly prohibits civilians or anybody who is not a member of the armed forces to drive or be incharge of any vehicle that is painted with the colour of green unless such vehicle belongs to the Nigerian army or its members. This act subsequently provides for punishments in s.2 of this act for any civilians who are caught driving or using a vehicle painted with the army green. The punishment is that the offender will be jailed for six months or more or made to pay a fine.
Therefore, even if the army green colour is your favorite colour, when you are using it as a civilian you are a law breaker and even if you are not caught you are still a law breaker.
Be it as it may, no law empowers the men of the armed forces to harass, beat up, frog-jump or intimidate any civilian they caught using the army colour. The due process of the law is to be followed in prosecuting such offender which is arrest and trial and then conviction of the offender if found guilty.