NIGERIAN MILITARY SENTENCES 12 SOLDIERS TO DEATH
For Mutiny & Attempted Murder of Their Commanding Officer
--Attorney Patryk Utulu

NIGERIA: A Court Martial has sentenced 12 soldiers to death for mutiny and attempted murder after they fired shots at their commanding officer in Maiduguri, in May 2014. Media reports said the soldiers were angry after their convoy was ambushed on a road frequently targeted by Boko Haram. Witnesses said the soldiers lost discipline and threw stones at the officer when he arrived at their camp, and shots were fired into the air. General Amadu Mohammed had to take cover as they aimed their guns at him - firing bullet-holes in his armour-plated staff car - but he was not injured.

MUTINY IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AND SEVERELY PUNISHED
All denied the charges at a court martial
12 soldiers were condemned to death
5 other soldiers were acquitted of all charges
1 soldier was convicted on another count.
9-member military tribunal heard the case

The tribunal President Chukwuemeka Okonkwo said while the sentences were subject to confirmation by Nigeria's military authorities, there was no doubt about the seriousness of the offence. The sentencing panel analysed the "likely effect on counter-insurgency operations" of the incident as well as its "implications on national security."

If clemency is denied by the Nigerian Military authorities the condemned officers could seek direct clemency from the President. If denied the officers may be executed by firing squad.

Patryk A. Utulu is a U.S.-based attorney and Strategic Communications Specialist
Global Defense Analyst and Global Events Commentator
Executive Vice President, Nigerian Diaspora-North America
Executive Director, The Center for Community Empowerment and Lifeskills, Inc.
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