The Nigerian Army has dismissed 203
soldiers after a secret court martial held
in the dead of the night, for allegedly
disobeying a direct order from their
commanding officer, PREMIUM TIMES has
learnt.


One of the sacked soldiers, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said the soldiers were
dismissed for asking for support equipment,
following the army’s plan to convey them in a
tipper for an operation in Bama and Gwoza,
two strongholds of Boko Haram insurgents.
The soldier, who is originally of the 19th
Battalion in Okitipupa in Ondo State, but
attached to the 7th division in Maiduguri, said
the army detained them for over 90 days
before dismissing them after a midnight trial.
He said they are owed up to five months in
unpaid salaries.

Narrating the event that led to their dismissal,
the soldier said his unit reconvened in
Maiduguri last August, after they were
dislodged by the insurgents in Damboa in an
operation where their commanding officer and
several other soldiers were killed.
He said they were given two weeks pass and
that at the expiration of their pass, they were
issued new uniforms, boots and 30 rounds of
bullets each as opposed to the statutory 60
rounds. And were going to be conveyed in a
tipper lorry to Gwoza and Bama for an
operation.

He said having engaged the insurgents in
several past battles, majority of the soldiers
argued that the operation would be fierce, and
therefore requested support equipment.
“So we asked for support weapons. No support
weapon was provided. Our CO (Commanding
Officer) said he would discuss with the GOC
(General Officer Commanding) of the 7 Division
at the headquarters. When he came back, he
said we should stand down. We thought all was
well,” our source said.

But the request made by the soldiers fetched
them more than they bargained for.
The next day their new CO, Mohammed A, a
lieutenant colonel from 195 battalion,
Agenebode, ordered them to submit their
weapons and uniforms or be charged with
mutiny.

“On the morning of 16 of August, after the GOC
briefing, our commander started calling our
names and he said anyone whose name is
called should submit their uniform and
weapon. He added that anyone who failed to
do that would be charged for mutiny. We were
surprised at what was happening.
“He started from the most senior soldier among
us, a warrant officer who had served for almost
30 years. They asked us to go back to the
barrack. It is a war zone and our weapons had
been taken from us. Staying around was of no
use so we left Maiduguri back home.”
The next order from the army hierarchy was for
the soldiers to report to the 4th Brigade
headquarters in Benin where they were
detained for three months.

“They kept us in the fenced field at the officers’
mess in 4th battalion headquarters. When we
first arrived at Benin they took statements from
us and took it to Maiduguri. The original charge
against us was for deserting but after our
statements were taken they changed the
charge to disobedient to particular order. They
said we disobeyed the CO’s order. They seized
our phones, we couldn’t communicate with our
families for the 90 days we were kept in
detention,” our source said.

After they were released on December 24, they
were conveyed to their various units. The
soldier said on getting to their units, a court
martial was set up at about 11.30 p.m. where
they were tried and dismissed. He said the next
morning, they were evicted from the barrack
with their families.

“It was dismissal without benefits. After 17
years in service. Even people that served for 30
years were dismissed without benefits. We had
no legal representation.”
Army spokesperson, Olajide Laleye, a Brigadier
General, could not be reached for comments
on Thursday. Calls and messages to his
telephone were not answered or returned.
The dismissal of the 203 soldiers followed a
wave of court-martialling of other soldiers for
mutiny and other offences.
On December 24, a military court-martial that
sat in Abuja sentenced four soldiers to death by
firing squad for alleged mutiny.
That judgment came just about a week after
another batch of 54 soldiers were condemned
to death for refusing to fight the deadly Boko
Haram sect.

The 54 soldiers belonged to the 111 Special
Forces battalion attached to the 7 division of
the army in Maiduguri. They are to die by firing
squad, the military court ruled.
The soldiers were accused of disobeying a
direct order from superior officers to take part
in an operation aimed at dislodging Boko
Haram terrorists from Delwa, Bulabulin and
Damboa in Borno State.

The soldiers said they refused to take part in
the operation because the Army did not provide
them with the required combat and support
equipment needed for such operations.
Earlier, in September, 12 soldiers were
sentenced to death for allegedly shooting at a
car conveying their commanding officer, Ahmed
Mohammed, a Major General.
The attack occurred May 14 at the army’s 7
Division, Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri,
headed at the time by Mr. Mohammed.
Others were also sentenced to life in jail for
criminal conspiracy and attempt to commit
murder.

The soldiers revolted after some of their
colleagues were ambushed and killed by Boko
Haram extremists, an attack they blamed their
commander for.
Yet, more soldiers remain on trial for their
conducts in the fight against the extremist sect,
and face being sentenced to death.
On December 23, another batch of 118 soldiers
were transported from Maiduguri, the Borno
State capital, to face charges in Abuja, the
nation’s capital.

It is not clear when the troops would be
arraigned before the military court, but our
sources said unlike their colleagues who were
convicted December 17, the 118 soldiers are
accused of offences less than mutiny.
Also, 22 top officers, including a brigadier
general, are being held at the Ikeja Military
Cantonment in Lagos, preparatory to being
arraigned for yet unclear offences.
They could not be arraigned on December 22
because the court was not properly constituted.
Their arraignment has now been scheduled for
a date in January.
The convicted soldiers, apart from the four that
were sentenced December 24, have been
moved to Lagos to await appeal, pardon or
execution.


www.saharareporters.com/2015/01/01/nigerian-army-dismisses-203-soldiers-after-secret-night-trial

When they registered to the armed forces they read the on-the-job challenges entailed and used their hand to sign the dotted lines.


Not my problem.

charix:
When they registered to the armed forces they read the on-the-job challenges entailed and used their hand to sign the dotted lines.


Not my problem.

The least you can do is act like you got some sense.

osamaBUSH:

The least you can do is act like you got some sense.

That was why I ignored him.
No sympathy for those who protect the country simply because of a stupid pact they signed.