Succour may have come the way of some soldiers currently undergoing trial for various offences, as new Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai has ordered the dissolution of General Courts- Matial in the country.
Some soldiers have been convicted and sentenced to death, while others are undergoing trial for various offences, including conspiracy to commit mutiny, and mutiny, among others.
A human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, who disclosed the dissolution yesterday, commended the Federal Government and military authorities for the decision to discontinue with the trial. Falana represents most of the accused soldiers.
He said: “I have confirmed from the Chief of Army Staff that the courts martial have been disbanded while the cases of convicted soldiers would be reviewed.
“A committee has already been set up to inquire into the cases of dismissed soldiers. As counsel for some of the soldiers, I wish to thank the Federal Government and the military authorities for putting an end to the desperate move of Marshal Felix Badeh, former CDS and co to execute soldiers who refused to commit suicide.
“Between September and December last year, two courts-martial which sat in Abuja, convicted and sentenced 70 soldiers to death.
“The soldiers, who were charged with mutiny, had complained of lack of equipment to fight and the failure of the military authorities to pay their operational allowances.
“The allegation of the diversion of the troops’ allowances was confirmed by the military authorities who removed the General Officer Commanding the 7th Infantry Division of the Nigerian Army based in Maiduguri, Borno State at the material time.
“Following the embarrassment which the conviction of the 70 soldiers attracted locally and internationally, the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, General Kenneth Minimah, refused to confirm the findings of both courts-martial contrary to the provision of section 22 of the Armed Forces Act.
“Thus, by refusing to confirm the findings, General Minimah deliberately denied the convicted soldiers the right to challenge their conviction at the Court of Appeal in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Armed Forces Act.”
Army authorities however confirmed that it was reviewing some cases of convicted soldiers, but dismissed reports making the rounds that the army command has recalled all dismissed and deserter soldiers.
Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, made the clarification in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday.
He said the Nigerian Army was only reviewing some recent disciplinary cases and was yet to arrive at any decision to recall any soldier.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a correspondence making the rounds in some media regarding an administrative procedure to review some recent disciplinary cases in the Nigerian Army.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that the Nigerian Army is reviewing all recent disciplinary cases due to the wave of litigations and petitions by some aggrieved personnel,” he said.
He urged the public, not to misconstrue the recent directive to mean total recall of dismissed and deserter soldiers.
