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.
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/174094-nigerian-army-dismisses-203-soldiers-secret-night-trial.html

hmmmm failed

i salute the military!

FG deliberately recruiting enemies! What stops these frustrated guys from joining forces with the enemy camp or staging a coup

Onmason:
FG deliberately recruiting enemies! What stops these frustrated guys from joining forces with the enemy camp or staging a coup

Na so dem dey stage coup

@topic, that's what happens when people join the army due to unemployment.

Biafran soldiers didn't even have the luxury of being transported in a tipper yet they held their ground for so long.

Good