Out of the remaining six soldiers, five were discharged and acquitted while the remaining one was jailed for 28 days with hard labour.
It would be recalled it was
reported on May 14, that some soldiers, angered by the death of 12 of their
colleagues in a Boko Haram ambush, opened fire on the vehicle of the General
Officer Commanding, GOC, 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, Ahmadu Mohammed in
Maiduguri.
Such act is viewed in the military
as mutiny.
Meanwhile the names of the
soldiers discharged are: David Robert, Mohammed Sani, Iseh Ubong, Sebastine
Gwaba and Naaman Samuel; While Jeremiah Echocho was sentenced to 28 days with
hard labour.
The soldiers sentenced to
death are: Jasper Braidolor, David Musa, Friday Onuh, Yusuf Shuaibu, Igonmu
Emmanuel, Andrew Ugbede, Nurudeen Ahmed, Ifeanyi Alukagba, Alao Samuel, Amadi
Chukwuma, Alan Linus, and Stephen Clement.
They were found guilty of
criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder (shooting of the vehicle
of the GOC); insubordination to a particular order; insubordination and false
accusation.
The President of the Court
Martial, Maj. Gen. C.C. Okonkwo found the 12 soldiers guilty of three of the
most heinous charges bars.
The defence team of the
convicts pleaded with the court martial to temper justice with mercy as they shared
stories about the convict family background.
The defence team argued
that giving them maximum sentence would do more harm than good, adding that it
would increase the agony of their dependants.
It would be recalled in May
2014, it was reported that 18 soldiers were arrested for interrogation following
the mutiny by some soldiers of 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Borno
State on May 14 2014.
In July, reports stated
that the soldiers blamed Mr Mohammed for the death of their colleagues.
The attack on the GOC and
his men reportedly occurred when they visited the cantonment.
Aside taking revenge on the
death of their colleagues, the soldiers at the cantonment were also reported to
have complained about inadequate provision of weapons, non-timely payment of
allowances and insufficient food, prior to the GOC’s visit.
Apparently it was gathered
that the GOC’s visit coincided with the arrival of the corpses of soldiers
killed in an ambush in Chibok on the night of May 13, 2014 which triggered the
soldiers anger.
Meanwhile after the attack,
the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Abubakar Mohammed who
luckily escaped death was immediately redeployed and replaced by Brigadier
General Mahmid Yakubu Ibrahim.
The Maimalari Cantonment is
the headquarters of 7 Division, the newest Division of the Nigerian Army.
Punch
Death sentence is too harsh
ReplyDeleteDeath sentence is too harsh
ReplyDelete