Ikengawo:
Military law says you are executed for abandoning post. Now that we have a court system that works there are people begging for an interruption of the national law because of their own sentiment and weak liver. Falana is a bastard. How many innocent people were raped and killed because these soldier ran away instead of protecting them.

thegoodjoehunt3:
I guess you did not read the post at all. If not, you would not have made such statement.

The soldiers refused to fight because of they lacked ammunition. As soon as they got arms, they went for the mission and did well. Yet, they are sentenced to be executed despite proof that they were not armed.

The constitution backs SAN Falana's point of view.

Ikengawo:


Because he told you he lacked ammunition on his facebook after being sentenced to death? There's absolutely no proof to that statement and unless I was in the platoon with him I would refrain from making judgments off unproven statements. What can be proven was the fact that he swore his life to protect Nigerians and race in the face of battle leaving his equipment behind for boko haram to collect to use to kill the villagers that later died from his proven act.



Soldiers are claiming they lack ammo, while boko haram raids them and comes back with APCs and anti helicopter rockets so I'm personally having a hard time believing this often politicial 'our soldiers aren't well equip' story.

More importantly he knew if he ran he'll die. He felt if he'd fought he'd die. So he chose to run. We're not going to back track on our laws and legal system because of a facebook post or lawless sentiment

thegoodjoehunt3:
President Jonathan applied for a loan to arm the Nigerian army. That alone will tell you how much our brave soldiers lack on the battle field.

Also, it was stated that the task was carried out after arms were provided for them. So it is a clear case of them refusing because the lacked ammunition.

It was after the task was done they were charged.

So they did not go earlier because they lacked ammunition.

Is it fair to you that our young soldiers who are ready to fight are being killed because they asked for weapons to do their job efficiently?

Ikengawo:


GEJ taking a loan to bulk up their weapons means they don't have weapons? That's not how it works. If you believe they were on the battle field with no guns that's fine but the picture above shows a young man in a modern bulletproof vest and uniforming on par with the developed world. If you didn't know, there are few armies in the world who's fighting forces are in bullet proof and Nigeria is among them and outside of South Africa and Egypt, alone in Africa.

For you to look at this image and tell me that this man was on the battlefield with a bulletproof vest and world class fatigue but no gun is sentiment speaking. The Judge made a tough decision and should be applauded for having a backbone and not letting human sentiment get in the way of disrupting the law of this country. There is a weak rule of law in Nigeria because people only follow the laws that are convenient to them and easy.


I'm going to tell you this again. By law, if a solider defects from post, he is executed. This is Nigerian military law, Federal law, and the international standard for armies across the world.

thegoodjoehunt3:
Can you tell the number of magazines he has for the mission? Are you saying you are just hearing that the Boko Haram fighters are more armed than our soldiers?

Read the article. It is clear you did not read it.

The proceedings of the court martial proved they were I'll equipped. The media were covering it until it turned ugly and the corruption going on was exposed.

This led to the media being sent out. It is a fact they were I'll equipped.

deji68:
So the only excuse a soldier need to give for deserting on social media nowadays is ..." No equipment " even if he is posing on top of a tank fully kitted with all kind of weapons...I don't blame the cowards among them, there are lot of gullible audience here

Ikengawo:


You continue telling me the things your hear and I'm telling you about the written law and established fact that he defected. If you desertion, under Nigerian Law, is punished by death. If you disagree with this law, contact you local senators office and petition him to begin a motion in senate to change it. This is how a law abiding country works under an organized democracy

you can't pick and choose what laws you follow because of sympathy, sentiment and sorrow. Boko Haram gets it's equipment from robbing Nigerian soldiers that desert post. They rob our arms supplies. So what weapon does BH have that the Nigerian Army doesnt have? If you wish to use sentiment in your judgement be sentimental for the people that were killed because of this mans cowardly act. The girls that were raped and forcefully converted to Islam. Don't be sentimental for the coward when there were innocent people that were relying on him for their safety who were decimated.

thegoodjoehunt3:
Was that picture taking before he was sent on the mission? No. So why use that as a proof of ammunitions.

We are talking of 54 soldiers asking for arms.

thegoodjoehunt3:
If you took your time to read the article, you will be more objective with your points


Please, is the quoted above from the article not the law?


Desertion is abandoning your team. These young soldiers did not desert. They refused to go on a suicide mission and were ready to fight with the team when the ammunitions were available. Deserting is refusing to fight, even when ammunitions are available.

Ikengawo:


You have not challenged my fundamental point, which is that the soldier broke the law and the court of law has issued it's punishment. There is no law in Nigeria that is negotiable because of secondary circumstances. I can not rob someone and tell the courts my wife didn't provide me with food. I can not r@pe someone and say by girlfriend is not sleeping with me. I can not defect my post because I feel that I don't have enough weapons to fight boko haram. Most important is you don't know as a fact that he didn't have ammunition. I don't know as a fact that he had ammunition, but I do know that the Nigerian law for desertion calls for execution, he deserted as a fact and will be executed.

If you desert post, you are killed. There's no secondary excuse or way around it.
We can't keep amending our laws when sentiment arises. Falana called this court order a genocide. To me it sounds like emotions and politics and not law and due process.

Ikengawo:


Because he told you he lacked ammunition on his facebook after being sentenced to death? There's absolutely no proof to that statement and unless I was in the platoon with him I would refrain from making judgments off unproven statements. What can be proven was the fact that he swore his life to protect Nigerians and race in the face of battle leaving his equipment behind for boko haram to collect to use to kill the villagers that later died from his proven act.



Soldiers are claiming they lack ammo, while boko haram raids them and comes back with APCs and anti helicopter rockets so I'm personally having a hard time believing this often politicial 'our soldiers aren't well equip' story.

More importantly he knew if he ran he'll die. He felt if he'd fought he'd die. So he chose to run. We're not going to back track on our laws and legal system because of a facebook post or lawless sentiment

deji68:
so in ur own warped logic..the millitary took the weapon from them before facing BH....for ur info They said their refusal to obey orders of the Commanding Officer of the Special Forces Battalion, Lt. Colonel Opurum, was as a result of non availability of arms and ammunition to prosecute the instruction of the commander."

...Yet their commander, Lt-Col Opurum went with just 29 men and SUCCESSFULLY carried out the mission Did the brave soldier that followed Lt col opurum fight with their bare hand ? desertion the military is a serious crime God protect our soldiers

jaso1:


If I were president the position of who lead our security forces will be thrown open with mutiny charge for whoever occupy it without meeting target.
These guys are part of us and I cant wish any of my enemy to die.
The question is why would you send your son to a battle you already know he can't defeat base on available information but to proved that he signed to die?
Nigeria must rise against this madness and fight injustice on our soldier's brother.

jaso1:


If I were president the position of who lead our security forces will be thrown open with mutiny charge for whoever occupy it without meeting target.
These guys are part of us and I cant wish any of my enemy to die.
The question is why would you send your son to a battle you already know he can't defeat base on available information but to proved that he signed to die?
Nigeria must rise against this madness and fight injustice on our soldier's brother.

Ikengawo:


The law isn't about what you wish, it's about what's written. Your wishes, Jonathan's wishes, and that soldiers wishes aren't relevant and this is where the term 'the law is blind' comes from. That's the disconnect between what you're understanding is and what I'm trying to teach you. It doesn't matter what the judge, the military, GEJ, PDP, APC, Falana, and the soldier wishes. If you break the law you invoke the consequence and that's unfortunately. The law must be the the sun. No matter how you feel about the heat it will be hot and it's up the the soldier and the citizens to do what they need to do to deal with the rule of law, not up to the rule of law to change to accommodate our wishes.


My argument is only rooted in sentiment and sympathy. I commend you for being a kind person, but that's why you're not a judge. The madness Nigeria must raise against is sentiment and emotions. We have been a country ruled by emotions and not laws for years and that's why it's lawless.


More importantly leave Jonathan out of this. Nigeria has been a dictatorship for ages so it's hard for use to adjust our thinking to suit the new reality but the current reality that even his enemies will attest to is that Jonathan is a democrat and follows the Yar'Adua school of 'rule of law' building.


Once those soldiers defected it was out of Jonathan's hands. GEJ doesn't control the law, he can only carry out initiatives sent to him by the senate. Those men broke the law, they went to court, the judge sentenced them to death, they are to be killed by and execution squad. Jonathan is not a part of that process at all. He's not God. In a dictatorship because of someone's emotions they can say 'I don't want this person punished for defecting' and that will happen. A President isn't a God. Obasanjo had the wrong idea and so did others before him and this is why our country is playing catch up. Enough is enough. You break the law you're punished. Citizens with issues about that need to go to their senators office in their local government and petition for him or her to start a motion on the floor of the senate.

These men deserted their post and allowed hundreds to be killed because of cowardice. The villagers that were slaughtered and r@ped by boko haram who much ammunition did the federal government give them? Your argument isn't holding up.

thegoodjoehunt3:
I guess you did not read the post at all. If not, you would not have made such statement.

The soldiers refused to fight because of they lacked ammunition. As soon as another group got arms, they went for the mission and did well. Yet, they are sentenced to be executed despite proof that they were not well armed.

The constitution backs SAN Falana's point of view.

Duru1:



What arrant nonsense. The Nigerian policemen who mount road blocks were not deployed without ammunition talk less of soldiers ordered to engage in gun battle. Moronic dingbat such as Femi Falana is one reason among many reasons Nigeria remains a joke.

Duru1:



What arrant nonsense. The Nigerian policemen who mount road blocks were not deployed without ammunition talk less of soldiers ordered to engage in gun battle. Moronic dingbat such as Femi Falana is one reason among many reasons Nigeria remains a joke.

Ikengawo:


The law isn't about what you wish, it's about what's written. Your wishes, Jonathan's wishes, and that soldiers wishes aren't relevant and this is where the term 'the law is blind' comes from. That's the disconnect between what you're understanding is and what I'm trying to teach you. It doesn't matter what the judge, the military, GEJ, PDP, APC, Falana, and the soldier wishes. If you break the law you invoke the consequence and that's the way civilization works. The law must be like the sun. No matter how you feel about the heat it will be hot and it's up to the soldier and the citizens to do what they need to do to deal with the rule of law (heat), not up to the rule of law (sun) to change to accommodate our wishes.


Your argument is only rooted in sentiment and sympathy. I commend you for being a kind person, but that's why you're not a judge. The madness Nigeria must raise against is sentiment and emotions. We have been a country ruled by emotions and not laws for years and that's why it's lawless.


More importantly leave Jonathan out of this. Nigeria has been a dictatorship for ages so it's hard for use to adjust our thinking to suit the new reality but the current reality that even his enemies will attest to is that Jonathan is a democrat and follows the Yar'Adua school of 'rule of law' building.


Once those soldiers defected it was out of Jonathan's hands. GEJ doesn't control the law, he can only carry out initiatives sent to him by the senate. Those men broke the law, they went to court, the judge sentenced them to death, they are to be killed by and execution squad. Jonathan is not a part of that process at all. He's not God. In a dictatorship because of someone's emotions they can say 'I don't want this person punished for defecting' and that will happen. A President isn't a God. Obasanjo had the wrong idea and so did others before him and this is why our country is playing catch up. Enough is enough. You break the law you're punished. Citizens with issues about that need to go to their senators office in their local government and petition for him or her to start a motion on the floor of the senate.

These men deserted their post and allowed hundreds to be killed because of cowardice. The villagers that were slaughtered and r@ped by boko haram who much ammunition did the federal government give them? Your argument isn't holding up.

deji68:
make u noo mind am ...."ill equipped" that is the new word for cowardice.....I think Mr Falana should define what an "ill equipped" soldier has in is possesion....A Dane Gun?...The Civillian JTF have sometime only Bow and arrow yet the partake in military op with the army....watching cnn just now saw some Female Turkish soldier in war front of Kobani...Their infantry weapon doesnt look better than what how Military parade....some are not even paid ....

Duru1:



What arrant nonsense. The Nigerian policemen who mount road blocks were not deployed without ammunition talk less of soldiers ordered to engage in gun battle. Moronic dingbat such as Femi Falana is one reason among many reasons Nigeria remains a joke.

thegoodjoehunt3:
The had ammunitions but they were not well equipped. For instance, they did not have enough bullets. You might needs ten magazines of bullets and you are sent out with only two. Then you are not well equipped for the war.

Duru1:


Who informed you that the standard issue to a soldier is ten magazines (clips) before he or she could engage in gun battle?

Ikengawo:


Has anyone noticed GEJ never speaks about the opposition? He only speak about his self and his administration. You won't hear him lock horns with anyone over anything. If opposition is saying GEJ everyday, and GEJ is saying GEJ everyday, when people go to vote who's name do you think will be in their heads? Good or bad if I Google Goodluck Jonathan I get 10 million responses and i'm willing to bet he's the only man alive with that name. When I Google Muhammadu Buhari I get 1 million some and he's not the only man alive with that name.


So what is the end result because APC is more present online than they are in the streets? These people don't know politics. It's a party of people that were out manuevred in PDP, APGA, governor's forum or employees of Bola Tinubu coming together to fight the people that have been mastering them in politics. What makes anyone think a collection of losers will win against a coalition of the people that defeated them in the first place? APC is a party of losers and this sentimental, emotional, erratic and mindless party hoping is one of the primary reasons this is so

thegoodjoehunt3:
Remember, this is a case of 54 soldiers. Some where trained by American forces.


The question is, were they given enough Ammunition. The Lawyer has presented his case. The Civilian JTF using Bow and Arrow are not in the war front against machine guns.

They asked for ammunition and they were given death.

thegoodjoehunt3:
No matter how long you make your posts, those soldiers wanted to fight but they were not well equipped. 54 soldiers can not all be stupid. Why are you not interested in the fact that was exposure of corruption during the case?

You make it look like if Superior officers are always right. How come some are dismissed.

GIVE THE SOLDIERS ENOUGH AMMUNITION AND NOT DEATH.