The Army authorities should further review the 10-year jail sentence on soldiers charged with mutiny
The commutal of death sentence passed on 66 soldiers charged with mutiny earlier in the year is remarkable. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, had promised soon after assuming office that he would look into the petitions forwarded to his office on the matter. Many civil society activists, human right lawyers, international organisations and retired soldiers who considered the sentence and procedures adopted as high handed and inhuman had called for a review. In response, Gen. Buratai ordered a legal review, after which he announced that 66 of the 71 soldiers so charged had their sentences commuted to 10 years’ jail term.
We commend the Chief of Army Staff for ordering a legal review. However, a moral review of the circumstances of the said mutiny is also necessary if the end of justice is to be served. The men had been charged with disobeying their commander after they had been ambushed in Borno State by a band of marauding Boko Haram insurgents. The soldiers were said to have objected when their commanding officer ordered a particularly dangerous expedition at night. They, however, proceeded on the journey that eventually claimed the life of their platoon commander, a young captain, and a number of their colleagues. Incensed by the commanding officer’s poor sense of judgment that came at such a great cost, they confronted him. The act was consequently considered a mutiny.
The soldiers also complained that they were ill-equipped for the battle. They claimed to have been given only 30 bullets each and no food ration.
We note that 579 soldiers earlier convicted by courts-martial have their cases pending before the military authorities. We urge Gen. Buratai and the military high command to speedily consider the appeals. The extenuating circumstances should be given full consideration in the review. While the men are soldiers and should therefore be prepared for whatever comes their way in battle, it should be noted that they are also human beings who, like others, have families, aspirations and plans. The least the authorities could have done was fully kit and equip them for every battle to which they were sent. In this case, we consider it more of a collective failure of the military than the men’s. Recent revelations on how funds released for purchase of weapons and the general welfare of the fighting troops were shared and disbursed for other purposes should inform a far lesser punishment or even the discharge of all the accused soldiers.
It is unfortunate that former military chiefs, led by Marshall Alex Badeh, who starved the troops of necessities, turned round to charge them with mutiny and condemned them to death. We recall how Marshal Badeh himself sounded sanctimonious when confronted with the campaign for a reprieve for the condemned soldiers. He blurted: “Is it because we brought them to Abuja to be tried that we have all these calls? They could have been tried, condemned, executed and buried in the field – all in five minutes”. The same Badeh, when he was being pulled out after his retirement, confessed that his greatest regret was that he sent men to battle without equipment. So, it was the military and political authorities of the day that failed the men and the country.
We call on Gen Buratai to set a standard and demonstrate that the Nigerian Army does not operate below internationally-sanctioned values by not only releasing these men but building the institution. We also call on the Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also a retired general, to ensure that all institutions of state act in a humane fashion. Institutional failure should not be blamed on individuals. At a time this administration is selling its change agenda to Nigerians and the international community, President Buhari has a duty to ensure a thorough review of cases in which the end of justice might have been ill-served. Cases of institutional failure abound in our country. Many men who occupied high positions in the past had used such positions to oppress and repress others.
We also call the attention to the case of Gen. Enitan Ransome-Kuti, who was earlier dismissed for losing a battle. He is said to be a gallant officer who had served the country diligently through the ranks. Unless there are other facts unknown to the public, a single reversal is inadequate to come to such a drastic verdict.
We insist that if democracy is to be deepened in the country, impunity and injustice must be consigned to the past. Justice and fair play must be given full effect in all situations as the military makes effort to end the Boko Haram insurrection.
