Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Human rights
activist, Mr. Femi Falana has called on the Chief of Army Staff,
Lt-General Kenneth Minimah, to set aside the death sentence passed on 12
soldiers by its General Court Martial. Thisday reports.
The soldiers during their trial in Abuja (Photo credit: AP)
In a petition to Minimah, dated December 5, Falana argued that the
judgment of the court martial cannot be justified as it was
characterised by grave errors of law which occasioned miscarriage of
justice.
He said the convicts were illegally charged with mutiny under Section
52(1) of the Armed Forces Act as the prosecution did not prove that the
convicts disobeyed a military act in connection with any operation
against the enemy.
He contended that according to the petition filed on behalf of the
convicts pursuant to Section 149(1) of the Armed Forces Act (Cap A20)
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the soldiers should not have
been convicted as there was no evidence that they wanted to kill the
General Officer commanding (GOC).
He advocated that the convicts be granted full pardon, saying they
ought not to have been charged with attempted murder, convicted and
sentenced to death.
He wrote: “We pray the confirming authorities to temper
justice with mercy by granting the convicts full pardon. Even though
they were ill-equipped and ill-motivated, they had fought the Boko Haram
troops with courage, commitment and loyalty to their country.
“In the process, they had lost many of their colleagues including
the 10 whose corpses were brought to the Mailamari Cantonment. In
considering the extenuating circumstances we are compelled to remind the
confirming authority that the military high command confirmed the
allegations of the soldiers who took part in the protest.
“Apart from removing the GOC and retiring him from the Nigerian
Army, the authorities have adopted some measures to address the
complaints of the soldiers involved in combat operations in the
north-east region,” he stated.
Premium Times gives the name of the convicted soldiers as Corporal
Jasper Braidolor; Corporal David Musa; Lance Corporal Friday Onun; Lance
Corporal Yusuf Shuaibu; Lance Corporal Igomu Emmanuel; Private Andrew
Ngbede; Private Nurudeen Ahmed; Private Ifeanyi Alukhagba; Private Alao
Samuel;Private Amadi Chukwudi; Private Alan Linus; and Lance Corporal
Stephen Clement.
Falana argued that the soldiers’ protest was not connected with ‘operations against the enemy,’
as spelt out in the Armed Forces Act. He said they protesting against
the negligence of the Federal Government and the military Authorities to
motivate and equip them.
It will be recalled that the Anglican Church Primate in Nigeria, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh two months ago asked the authorities to spare the lives of 12 soldiers sentenced to death.
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