A
military court sitting in Abuja yesterday Sept 15, found 13 out of the
18 soldiers standing trial for mutiny and other offences guilty. Twelve
of the convicted soldiers were sentenced to death, five were discharged
and acquitted while the remaining one was jailed for 28 days with hard
labour.
The
soldiers had on May 14, 2014 fired shots at the General Officer
Commanding the newly created 7 Division of Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen.
Ahmed Mohammmed, in Maiduguri. The act is viewed in the military as
mutiny.
Those
discharged are David Robert, Mohammed Sani, Iseh Ubong, Sebastine Gwaba
and Naaman Samuel. Jeremiah Echocho was sentenced to 28 days with hard
labour. While 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 were sentenced
to death.
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, said the 12
soldiers were found guilty of three of the most heinous charges bars.
The
legal team of the convicts pleaded with the court martial to temper
justice with mercy. The team reeled out pathetic stories about the
family backgrounds of the convicted servicemen. One was said to be the
only son of his octogenarian widowed mother. Another is the father of a
five-month-old baby.
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.
The
attack on the GOC and his men occurred when they visited the
cantonment. Military sources said that soldiers at the cantonment had
been complaining of insufficient ammunition, food and allowances prior
to the GOC’s visit. They were also said to be unhappy and their morale
was at its lowest ebb because there had not been troop rotation for a
long time since their deployment to combat Boko Haram terrorists in the
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