The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Soldier

  • Army: soldier under probe for brutalising woman

    Army: soldier under probe for brutalising woman

    THE Army has confirmed that a soldier, who allegedly brutalised a female passenger travelling from Port Harcourt to Onitsha, is under interrogation. The incident allegedly occurred at a military checkpoint in Port Harcourt on Monday.

    The Army authorities pleaded with the public to have faith and confidence in it to handle such cases.

    According to a post on the victim’s social media account, the lady identified as Jewel Infinity said she was on her way to Onitsha aboard a Toyota Sienna bus when her car was pulled over at a checkpoint “immediately after the airport”.

    Jewel recounted that she was molested by a young soldier named Sulaiman Olamilekan, who accused her of “discussing him” and ordered her to disembark from the vehicle, kneel down and apologise to him.

    “To my greatest dismay, this dude went in search of any object at his disposal (a huge stick) and started hitting it all over my body, he shoved me out of the vehicle and when he piecesed (sic) the stick on me, he went in search of another thing and he came back with a big rod…” Jewel recounted.

    She claimed the incident was later reported at the Army Barracks and sympathetic officers later apologised and took her to the hospital for treatment.

    But in a reaction, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sanni Usman said the issue is under investigation.

    Usman said: “As regards to the lady, I have communicated the matter to the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division and they are taking necessary action. I know that the soldier and his guard commander have been invited and effort is on to locate the lady.”

    The Army spokesman appealed to the public to report to the Army authorities any act of misdemeanour committed by any personnel against the civil population.

    “Please help us enlighten the public  to have faith, confidence and trust in us by reporting such issues properly and if nothing is done, then they can go public with it,” Usman said.

     

  • Pay attention to us like Chibok girls, wounded soldier urges Nigerians

    Pay attention to us like Chibok girls, wounded soldier urges Nigerians

    Cpl. Ibrahim Usman, one of wounded soldiers in the fight against the  Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, has called on Nigerians to pay more attention to troops’ welfare.

    Usman made the appeal in an interview with newsmen on Monday, when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, visited wounded soldiers at hospitals in Maiduguri.

    The soldier, who was admitted to military hospital, Maimalari Cantonment, about three weeks ago, urged Nigerians to pay attention to soldiers’ well being in the frontline just as they were doing for the missing Chibok girls.

    According to Usman, his two legs broke during an explosion when a vehicle conveying him and nine other soldiers to Monguno in Borno north during an operation stepped on mine planted by the terrorists.

    “We need Nigerians to take care of us. Like this my injury, broken legs, they suppose to take me to a specialist hospital or abroad for a good treatment.

    “If it is these girls – Chibok school girls, they will take them abroad. We are the ones fighting in the bush,’’ Usman said.

    Although the solider said that he was responding to treatment, he said would retire from the military when he gets well due to the injury.

    “I cannot fight again because I do not have that strength any more. My legs are broken.

    “If I get well, I will retire because my legs are broken. I can no longer go and fight the insurgents,’’ Usman.

    Another soldier, Sgt. Ahmed Musa, however, thanked the army chief for visiting wounded soldiers in the hospital.

    Musa of 119 Battalion Task Force, Mallam Fatori said: “My situation when I got here was worse but God I am getting healed.”

    “I have injury in one of my hands. When he – Buratai came here we are happy because when we came here we did not see anybody. We appreciate the way he comes here,’’ he said.

    According to Cpl. Innocent Gabriel, a nurse attending to one of the wounded soldiers at the time of the visit, the common cases of injury are fractures resulting from explosions and gunshots.

    Gabriel said that most of wounded soldiers were responding to treatment, adding that some of them may be taken to the theatre.

    The doctor in charge of the hospital, Lt.-Col. Ndidi Onuchukwu, a Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon, said that 97 wounded soldiers were being treated in the facility which had capacity for 105 patients.

    Onuchukwu said that the worst cases come from combat injuries, adding that the hospital was,collaborating with the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital – UMTH to give the best to them.

    Speaking after the visit, Buratai described it as “operation and welfare visit” to encourage the wounded soldiers.

    He said that most of them would soon be discharged and commended troops for efforts in the war against the insurgents.

    Prof. Abdurrahman Tahir, the Chief Medical Director of UMTH, lauded the army for the prompt settlement of its personnel medical bills. (NAN)

  • A soldier’s soldier

    It is rare in this part of the world to praise military and police men because of how we perceive them. Frankly speaking, they are the architect of this problem. Our soldiers and policemen see themselves as superior to others. They believe that they are above those of us the soldiers like to call “bloody civilians”. They call us “bloody civilians” because they carry the guns bought for them with tax payers’ money. This is why there is no love lost between them and the people.

    This is, however, not to say that all uniformed men are bad. There are men of honour and integrity among them; men who will lay down their lives for their fellow men;  not only for their country which territorial integrity they swore to defend. But the few bad eggs in service are rubbishing the good done by their conscientious colleagues.

    A lot of privileges come with being a military personnel and one of these is that soldiers live on the state. They are catered for by their country because they have signed off to defend it with their sweat and blood. Many of our soldiers and even officers have come to see these privileges as given. This is why they will board commercial buses and claim to be “staff” to avoid paying the fare. Often times, this has led to squabbles.

    We look at our soldiers and officers from the prism of the shameful conduct of some of them that fight in public or beat up women in traffic. That, of course, is not the face of the Nigerian soldier. The face of the Nigerian soldier is the one who does exploits on peace missions; who fights without yielding ground to the enemy in the theatre of war; who stands by and with his colleagues in the trenches; who looks out for others before himself no matter how difficult the terrain may be. To be an officer and a gentleman, you must first be a good soldier.

    Leadership is a trust and you can only earn your subordinates’ trust if you lead them well. There are many leaders whose subordinates can even abuse to their faces. Only a few can earn respectable remarks from their subordinates. In the military, which runs a command structure, leadership can be a burden, at times, because the lives of the rank and file are in the hands of the commander. This is why in some cases we have heard of subordinates revolting against their commanders, especially on welfare matters. A commander may be good in leading troops and may not do well in taking care of his men’s welfare.

    But blessed is the commander who can marry the two. He will be the pride of his troops, who will do anything for him. A commander who will live and die for his men will always be their beloved. But the love of money and the good things of life have made many of our officers to derail. They cut their men’s allowances and still expect them to be loyal. If they were in their men’s shoes will they be loyal? I have followed keenly reports of the exploits of the late  Lt Col Muhammad Abu-Ali, who was the Commanding Officer, 272 Special Forces Tanks Battalion in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. His men have been eulogising the Sarki Yakin (chief warrior) just as the army too has been singing his praise. The slain officer was a soldier’s soldier, going by their accounts. He was an officer who risked everything for his men. To him, his life did not matter, but that of his men.

    This is why the late Lt Col Abu-Ali was always found in the thick of battle. He was in the hottest spot and never sent his men to where he could not go. There was no front too tough to scare him; even when his men pleaded with him not to go, he ignored them. His refrain in such circumstances, which may well become his epitaph, is : “Gentlemen, stay alert and be alive, and be prayerful. I don’t want any of my soldiers to be injured or lose his life in this operation, and if at all someone may go down, let me be the one”. Why won’t such an officer be the darling of his men? The late Lt Col Abu-Ali showed leadership in the face of death. He did not hide behind his troops, he was in their front.

    As young as he was, he was not scared of death; rather, he scared death. Did he really fall in battle or was he sold out by those envious of his reputation? Men like him will surely have enemies within the service because of the way he related with his troops who he took as members of his family. He knew the secret of fighting which many of his colleagues probably did not know and that is – to fight well you must put your troops at ease. His men were at home with him. He was not an oga that you could not walk up to, to discuss your problems with. He was so open because he had no skeleton in his cupboard. He earned his spurs fighting Boko Haram, chasing members of the sect from one corner of the Northeast to the other.

    He was spotted by his bosses. ‘’Seest thou a man diligent in his work? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men’’, says the scripture. The late Abu-Ali stood before kings when he earned rapid promotion from major to lieutenant colonel for his bravery. At his nocturnal decoration by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, on September 9, 2015 at Gamboru Ngala, the border town with Cameroon , his men went wild with joy. They lifted him off the ground dancing and singing his praise. They were happy for their oga. But in the crowd may have been people who were envious of this gallant soldier’s meteoric rise. They may have been the ones who plotted his killing in battle last Friday. His death is the nation’s loss. Whoever thinks he has gained from Lt Col Abu-Ali’s death is only deceiving himself. That person does not love our country. For his information, soldiers like Abu-Ali do not die because their legacies will live forever.

    Officers like him are rare to come by and when they come, we must do everything to preserve them. The army saw his potential early and encouraged him by giving him rapid promotion, but death struck when he was yet to be in full bloom. It is understandable if the army is pained by his death. No institution worth its name will want to lose a good officer. No; never. If a probe will unravel the circumstances of his death, so be it in order to prevent the untimely death of other equally good officers. There is more to Abu-Ali’s death than meets the eye. To buttress my point, we do not have to look further than Gen Buratai’s statement that  Abu-Ali’s death ”will be an eye opener” if the utterances of some individuals and organisations are scrutinised. We owe it a duty to his memory and to his family to ensure that he does not die in vain.

    My heart goes out to Abu-Ali’s widow and his children. May God give them the fortitude to bear this loss. Adieu, Sarki Yakin, the people’s commander.

  • We lost many officers in Liberia because they were tricked by women into enemies’ trenches – Ex-ECOMOG soldier

    THE Liberian civil war ended about two decades ago but there are many facts about the war that are yet unknown to many, particularly as they relate to the engagement of Nigerian officers in peace keeping mission in the former war-torn nation. One of the officers that served in the first batch of the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) peace keeping mission was Prince Boko Babatunde, now the oba elect of Ikoga Zebbe, one of the most populous kingdoms in Badagry area of Lagos State.

    The amiable prince enlisted in the Nigerian army shortly after his secondary school education because of his childhood ambition of serving the country. But, as a young officer, he and his colleagues were oblivious of what the war front looked like until they got to Liberia.

    Hardly did they arrive in Liberia than the rebels struck and killed one of his colleagues during a parade. The incident made him and others who thought the mission was a child’s play to quickly have a rethink and approached the battle with all seriousness.

    Although he admitted that the battle was tough, the oba elect still relishes his love for the Nigerian Army. He said: “I have always had interest in the Nigerian Army, and that made me to opt for it shortly after my secondary school education. Back then in the secondary school, during our literary and debating group meetings about what we wanted to be in the future, I always told them that I wanted to become a soldier. That had been my ambition from childhood.

    “I was always looking forward to where I could have the opportunity of serving the nation, and the military always topped the list of all the places in my heart. Fortunately for me, God blessed my wish and I was enlisted in the Nigerian Army without knowing anybody or bribing my way through.

    “I wasn’t scared when I was asked to go to Liberia on peace keeping. I wasn’t at all. All I did was to go back home to tell my father who merely prayed that I would go and return safely. I never went with any other thing than my small Bible issued to us by the military.

    “As young officers, most of us thought the exercise was a child’s play when we go to Liberia. It dawned on us that it was a serious matter when we started seeing our colleagues felled in attacks launched by the enemies. But that didn’t deter us. Rather, it gingered us to face the battle squarely.

    “When we just arrived in Liberia, one of my friends became the first casualties of the rebels. We were on parade ground when they launched an attack and my friend was hit by their bullet. He fell and died instantly. We just heard a sound and the next thing we saw was his dead body. At that very moment, we buckled up and faced the challenge.

    “We were regularly given pep talks that as soldiers, that was what we signed for and we should not relent.”

    As a dogged fighter, he dismissed the relevance and efficacy of charms on the battle field, saying that those who depended on it during the Liberian war never returned home alive.

    He said: “The rebels could fire anyhow and run away because they were not trained. But we could not do that. We always fired when instructed to do so. Bullets were flying all around each time we were in battle with the rebels, but using the training we had received, one could dodge them.

    “I never used charms because, like I said earlier, I only went to the war front with the pocket Bible the authorities gave us and the prayer of my father. Charms cannot stop you from dying at the battle front because you are not using only guns. At the battle front, you had grenades, rocket launchers, armoured tanks, artillery guns and others. So, if you fortify yourself with charms to prevent bullets from penetrating your body, what about the other weapons?

    “We had many people who trusted in their charms and died. One of them was a friend from Ife. He was very rugged and banked on his charms. He entered rebels’ territories anyhow and ended up wasting his own life.

    “Fighting at the war front is based on instructions. If you don’t follow the instructions from your superiors, you are bound to fail. If they ask you to fire, you fire. If they ask you to advance, you do so. And if they ask you to pin down, you pin down.

    “If you follow those instructions to the letter, you will not have any problem.”

    While the soft spoken prince would ordinarily not have anything to do with bloodshed, he said that he never romanced his guns during the peace keeping mission.

    “I was given two rifles and I fired the rebels with them. Of course, I killed the rebels and that was normal because as an officer, you were taught not to romance the rifle but to defend yourself and kill the enemies.

    “In a war situation, we have a place called no man’s land. When you are fighting, you don’t cross that place. But when you ceasefire, you can cross it. We could go to rebels’ camp and they could come to ours. In fact, we used to attend parties and have fun together. But when the time for fighting resumed, everybody would withdraw. It was a guerilla war, and because many women had lost everything, they started following our men, especially those that could provide food for them, because that was a major problem for the people during war.

    “Some of our men slept with them but I didn’t have the mind to do so because that was part of the instructions, and I told you that if you obeyed the instructions to the letter, you would not have any problem. At times, some of the women were rebels. They would trick you to enter their trenches and after capturing you, they would use knife to cut your neck. That was how they killed some of our officers.”

    He also took exception to looting at war front, saying: “If you are also going to the war front with the mind of looting, you wouldn’t come back. You can ask any general about this. You don’t go to the war front with the aim of making money or enriching yourself. You are to go and fight and win. The issue of money is not there, except for the regular allowances.

    “I felt happy when our batch was asked to come back home for another batch to take over from us. It was a relief from sleepless nights, not having our bath and other discomforts. Some of our colleagues had their feet rotting because of constant wearing of the boot. So, we were happy to come back home to see our families.”

    Aside from his love for the military, Prince Sewanu is also a lover of sound education. Unlike his peers who jettisoned their education after enlisting in the army, he combined his love for the profession with his education. From being a secondary school certificate holder when he joined the army, he holds a master’s degree in Business Administration today.

    He said: “After completing my primary and secondary school education, I moved to join the Nigerian Army on July 10, 1986. I was in the army training school, in Zaria, Kaduna for six months. After passing out from there, I moved to 123 Battalion, Ikeja Cantonment as a Brigade of Guard. There I was with my commander then, John Madaki, who we used to call Jagua.

    “From there, I moved to apply to further my education and got admitted into Plateau State School of Accountancy and obtained an ordinary diploma. After the programme, I returned to the office to start the job. From there, I was added to the first batch of offices that were deployed to Liberia. I served there for six months.

    “Immediately we came back to the country, I became very hungry for further studies and proceeded to Nigerian Military School of Finance and Administration, Apapa to study Accountancy. After completing the National Diploma programme, I went for industrial attachment in an audit firm based in Maryland, Lagos.

    “After that, I went for my Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro.  After my HND, I went for my PGD in Business Administration and Masters in Business Administration at the University of Calabar.

    “After the programme, I was redeployed to Kaduna from where I was moved to Ibadan, 2 Div, 81 Battalion. It was while serving in Ibadan that the urge to return home and serve my people came up. I had to come to join the local government service as a senior staff. It was while there that I got the call from my people to lead them.”

    If there is any experience as an officer in the military that he would not love to remember or talk about, it was the late Major Gideon Okar’s coup, which shook the nation to its foundation.

    Recalling the incident, he said: “I witnessed the Gideon Okar coup. I was with a friend at the Ikeja Cantonment when we started hearing gunshots. I told my friend that, that could be a coup but he said it was robbers. Within a space of time, what I said was right. It was a coup. We quickly gathered and thought of what we could do. We dressed up and headed for the armoury. But on getting there, we discovered that they had taken over the place. We quickly withdrew and took cover till the following day when the coup was foiled. I don’t really want to talk more on the coup.”

    After accomplishing his dream of serving his fatherland, the dark complexioned prince gloriously took a bow. “I left the army because, to me, it is not a job but a call to serve the nation. When you have done the little you think you can do for the nation, you come out to do other things.

    When I decided to leave, I thought I had done my best and wanted to use my certificate to work elsewhere.”

    If he thought that leaving the military to enjoy his privacy was the next thing for him, the prince greatly mistaken. Not quite long after he left the army, his community, realising his immense leadership skills, drafted him to become their monarch. While it came to him as sudden, leading the people is not however strange to him.

    He noted: “Right from my primary school days, I have always seen myself as a leader. When I was in secondary school, I was given two portfolios when they were choosing prefects. This continued all through my academic life. So, it wasn’t a surprise when my people called me to come and be the monarch. It is a challenge, and I am ready for it. I have the burning desire of improving my community and the people, using the knowledge I have acquired travelling all over the country and beyond.

    “As a widely travelled person, there are so many developments and ideas that I have come across and want to replicate in the community. I love my community and the people and would always work for their interest. Discipline on all fronts is one thing that I will want to thrive in the area. When there is discipline, every other thing will fall in line.

    “I was sad when I heard about the abduction of the monarch of Iba. It was not a good thing at all. But I will say that there is little or nothing that the monarchs can do on their own to protect themselves while there is a lot that the government can do.

    “I am a family man to the core and I am always guided by the principle of contentment. Even though I’m a young man, I don’t go clubbing or engage in activities that could take the time I need to spend attending to my work. I do attend social functions and take time to enjoy myself at such functions, but I often relax in the company of my family.”

    For the youthful prince, having people like the Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, and the Ooni of Ife excelling in their positions is the tonic that fires him up to serve the people.

    “I love and respect the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi. He is redefining the traditional stool in the western part of the country and I would want to toe his path. I equally adore our hardworking and humble governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, for his achievements within the short time he came into office. Their commitment to changing the society gladdens my heart. Governor Ambode has shown that he is an exemplary leader and we will continue to support him with our prayers.”

  • Ogundeko: Exit of soldier, educationist

    Today, the remains of the late Foundation Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Maj. Gen.(Otunba) T.B Ogundeko (rtd), OFR will be laid to rest. He died in his home town Ijebu-Mushin on July 8, aged 84 years.

    The Alumni Association of the National Institute, AANI in a condolence message conveyed by its  President, Major-General Lawrence AnebiOnoja(rtd) to his family, people and government of Ogun State  singled out “the remarkable contribution of late Maj. Gen. (Otunba) T.B. Ogundeko OFR to the growth and development of the country”.

    The late African writer, Chinua Achebe in his book “There Was a Country” stated that Nigeria that once produced public officers who not only worked harder but smarter with integrity and selflessness for public good. The late Maj. Gen.(Otunba) T.B Ogundeko was the face of Nigeria that once worked and delivered service for Nigerians and indeed all Africans. Sadly, names of some public holders almost in sectors are identified with self-enrichment and ruination of public institutions. Commendably T.B Ogundeko’s signature was synonymous with institution-building long before Barack Obama’s belated admonition to African leaders about strong institutions during his Ghanaian visit in 2009. His imprints are verifiable, indelible and sustainable. He was past Commandant Nigerian Military School (1962-1972); past Director Nigeria Army Education Corps (1972-1978) and Founding Director General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru among others. In his popularized tribute to the late General, Lt. Gen T Y Danjuma described Major General Timothy Babatunde Ogundeko as “…the best Direct Commissioned Officer that ever served in the Nigerian Army”. He recalled that all…”the professional soldiers who served with Timothy remember him as a mature and seasoned teacher who transformed the Nigerian Army Education Corps through his foresight, dedication, determination and diligence. He also transformed the attitude of the officer corps towards continuous learning and the acquisition of knowledge”.

    The former Chief of Army Staff recalled how late General facilitated the establishment of the Command Secondary Schools “to meet the needs of the children of Army personnel, a feat “soon copied by other Services of the Nigerian Armed Forces”.  His remarkable and historic role in the establishment of the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru however stood him out as a committed public administrator.  Established in 1979 by the Federal Government, NIPSS Kuru has continued to serve as a high level centre for reflection, research, and dialogue where academics of intellectual excellence, policy initiators and executors and other citizens of practical experience and wisdom drawn from different sectors of national life in Nigeria, meet annually to reflect and exchange ideas on the great issues of society, particularly as they relate to Nigeria and Africa in the context of the dynamics of a constantly and rapidly changing world. Today, the National Institute has graduated over 1500 participants that include three former Heads of State, former governors, traditional rulers, serving and past top level executives from various walks of life such as the presidency, states and local governments, civil service, Armed Forces, academia, labour and para-military institutions among others who are adding value to the country. As the pioneer Director of the National Institute, Major-General Timothy Babatunde Ogundeko presided over the institute between 1979 and 1981. An educationalist to the core, General Ogundeko was the Director, Army Education Corps before his appointment late in 1978 by General Obasanjo, then Head of State, to bring into fruition his (Obasanjo) dream for the establishment of the National Institute. In an interview with 2015 National Institute Yearbook, General Ogundeko who creatively coined the motto of the National Institute, “Towards a Better Society” and also designed its logo narrated how he travelled to notable countries like the UK, the US, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Germany to understudy their national institutes with the objective of pioneering the National Institute at Kuru, Jos. As first Director General, he established the 38-week intensive Senior Executive Course (SEC), inaugurated the Alumni Association of the National Institute during the graduation ceremony of SEC 1, March 1980.  He successfully graduated SEC 1 and SEC 2 before retiring voluntarily on health grounds at the age of 49 in 1981, just before the commencement of SEC 3.  General Ogundeko recalled to the NIPPS editors how on account of his commitment to NIPPS to the inauguration of SEC 1 in 1979, he had complications from an eye surgery.  He reminisced: “….just before the first course started in 1979, I had to go for medical treatment in the UK, I had an eye surgery.  I needed about 14 days to recover from the surgery. However, I kept receiving telephone from Nigeria reminding me of the September target date for the official opening of the new institute. So I requested for discharge, explaining to them that I was urgently needed back home.  When I came back, what I remembered was that I was still bleeding in the eye in which the surgery was conducted because I was seeing red.  It was certainly bleeding but I could not complain. We had a successful inauguration on September 3, 1979”.

    Ogundeko belonged to the generation that selflessly served the nation even at the expense of their personal well-being.

    President Muhammadu Buhari in his tribute to the late , Maj. Gen. Timothy BabatundeOgundeko said the deceased “will be long remembered for his towering role as an educationist and public administrator, who immensely contributed to the procedure and processes of training potential leaders in security and socio-political environment of Nigeria”. Undoubtedly an accomplished patriot, the late General was saddened at the recent commitment deficit to nation-building by contemporary public office holders. Witness him: “When I listen to news….the most depressing thing is corruption.  There is much corruption in the country to the extent that the funds available to this country and to the states have been terribly eroded.  Some state governments cannot pay salaries of workers six months. That sort of thing should not happen, but it is taking place. Listening to the news daily on radio and television depresses one.  Those who are appointed to positions are exploiting such for personal gain.  But what can one do?  What can one say about that?  I think with determination the government’s effort to fight corruption will succeed, even though it is not going to be easy”. The celebrated South African poet, BM Themba, once wrote that “Blessed are the dead. For they will; Never be suspected…”

    May his soul rest in perfect peace. Certainly the late Gen. Timothy Babatunde Ogundeko is blessed because he would no longer be suspected of lamentation about our free fall from development of the past to underdevelopment of the recent times. But he would be better honoured as the nation resolves in his words “with determination” to make a difference from corruption to development agenda.

     

    • Aremu, mni is Secretary General, Alumni Association of the National Institute, (AANI), Abuja.

  • Supreme Court okays jail term for soldier

    •To spend four years in prison for defiling minor

    The Supreme Court has upheld the four-year jail sentence handed to a soldier, Corporal Isah Ahmed, for defiling an 11-year-old girl.

    The court, in a unanimous judgment by a five-man panel, held that the General Court Martial and the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division (to which Ahmed had appealed) were right in convicting and sentencing Ahmed to four years imprisonment.

    The appeal, marked: SC/223/2013, was filed by Ahmed of Nigerian Army, Headquarters Garrison.

    Ahmed was, in 2005, arraigned before the General Court Martial on a one-count charge of defilement contrary to Section 78 of the Armed Forces Act CAP A 20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

    He was said to have defiled the 11-year old (name withheld) between January 4 and March 5, 2005.

    Ahmed, who was said to be a neighbour and family friend of the victim,  was said to have lured the girl into his apartment, in his wife’s absence, by asking the girl to buy soft drink for him.

    The military court sat at the Officers’ Mess, Mogadishu Contonment, Abuja. The Court Martial, in its judgment on August 29, 2005, found Ahmed guilty of the charge and sentenced him to four years imprisonment.

    He appealed to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, which also, in its judgment on March 18, 2010 upheld the decision of the Court Martial, a decision Ahmed appealed to the Supreme Court.

    In its judgment on July 1, the Supreme Court agreed with the Court Martial and Court of Appeal that the prosecution proved its case of defilement against the appellant (Ahmed).

    Justice Kudirat Kekekere-Ekun, who wrote the lead judgment, said “I am of the view that the lower court (Court of Appeal) was right when it affirmed the decision of the General Court Martial that the prosecution had proved its case against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.

    “Furthermore, so long as a person has carnal knowledge of a girl of  or under the age of 16, whether it is with her consent or not, an offence is committed.

    “No special grounds have been shown by the appellant to warrant interference by this court with the concurrent findings of fact by two lower courts.

    “I, therefore, hold that the appeal lacks merit. It is accordingly dismissed. The judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on March 18, 2010, affirming the conviction and sentence of the appellant to a term of four years’ imprisonment by the General Court Martial is hereby affirmed,” Justice Kekere-Ekun said.

    Other members of the panel; Justices Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, Musa Dattijo Muhammad and Amiru Sanusi agreed with the lead judgment.

  • ‘Dismissed’ soldier held for alleged armed robbery, extortion

    ‘Dismissed’ soldier held for alleged armed robbery, extortion

    •I’m still in service, suspect insists

    A dismissed soldier was yesterday paraded by the police for alleged armed robbery and extortion around Mazamaza on Badagry Expressway in Lagos.

    But Emmanuel Audu, 27, clad in army camouflage, denied the allegations.

    He was alleged to have conspired with some suspected cultists to beat up Chinedu, their gang member, for allegedly failing to remit ‘returns’.

    Denying being a member of the gang, Audu, who is from Plateau State, said he knew Chinedu, a private guard at a transport company, through his friend, Bandy.

    He said: “I met Chinedu through Bandy. Chinedu works with Constant Link Ventures, a transport company as security officer. Bandy told me he wanted to see a friend and that I should follow him that was how I met Chinedu.

    “We went to Chinedu’s house and we ate together that day and talked. The next time we met, Chinedu showed me a pistol that we should use for operation and I told him I was coming. I went and got an handkerchief to hold the weapon but when I returned, I didn’t see Chinedu nor the pistol. Maybe he thought I wanted to raise alarm.

    “I screamed his name to know where he was. He later came out but without the pistol and when I asked where the gun was, he said he doesn’t know anything about it that it belongs to me and my friend, Bandy.

    “So, I reported him to the director of his company that he has a locally made pistol in his custody. The director then took us to the police station but Chinedu could not produce the pistol.

    “I am not the owner of the money (N8,000). I met them deliberating over it and I did not join in beating Chinedu.  They (suspected cultists) took Chinedu to Monkey Village and it was there that they beat him. “They said he was supposed to pay inconveniency. I collected the N8,000 to help him. Bandy was my school mate at Army Children School, Ojo. I just went to solicit on Chinedu’s behalf. They beat him because he promised to bring money to snatch a car and he did not bring the money.”

    Continuing, the dismissed soldier, who claimed he was recalled, said he was drafted to the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps at Arakan Barracks in Apapa, but was yet to see the signal of his posting.

    “I am a private soldier but was dismissed for AWOL (Absence Without Leave) in 2013 after I went to spend 21 days with my mother who was sick. I had to take her to the hospital because I have no brother or sister to do so. I had been in service for three years without leave and I applied for leave but I wasn’t granted even though  I told them my mother was sick.We were the first set drafted to Yobe in 2012 when they declared a state of emergency. I came back to my unit after the operation and we spent three months and three weeks.

    “But I was recalled last year when President Muhammadu Buhari took over. My service number is 2009NA646132. I have been doing nothing since I went on AWOL but I am staying with my mum and help her with her business.I am on my uniform because I went to check my name at the unit I was posted to but they have not seen the signal. If I am going to the office, I wear my uniform. They have been booking me on AWOL because my signal has not been found.I was posted from Jaji, Kaduna. I was sent to Maiduguri, from there, we were taken to Jaji for Special Forces training. After training, some were sent back to Maiduguri, some to Yobe and others were sent back to their units.

    “I am among those sent back to their units but up till now, I have not seen my signal in the unit. I did not run away from camp.I don’t have anybody from my corps sent back to the unit. I am in intelligence. Others were from infantry and other units. I don’t know why they did not send a signal to my unit.My mother is still alive, I eat from her. I help her with her business. She sells bitter leaf and I assist her in it.Everything just happened as a nightmare because I never imagined this to happen to me.”

    A police source said investigation revealed that the suspect had been dismissed, accusing them of giving different versions of what transpired between them.

    According to the source, Chineduis in police custody and has confirmed that the dismissed soldier is a member of their gang.

  • Calabar: Soldier, policemen fight in banking hall

    Calabar: Soldier, policemen fight in banking hall

    Customers who went to a new generation bank  in Calabar got more than they bargained for when a fight broke out between a soldier and some four mobile policemen inside the bank at about 11 am Tuesday.

    It could not be ascertained what the cause of the squabble was, but a canister of tear gas was shot inside the filled banking hall, leading to pandemonium as customers fled the burning sensation.

    A couple of the policemen and the soldier sustained injuries. The uniform of the soldier was torn.

    Soon after more armed mobile and regular policemen arrived the bank in trucks demanding for the soldier who was inside the bank.

    A few moments later a deployment of soldiers in trucks also landed leading to sporadic shooting into the air, as on looking bystanders and passersby scampered for safety.

    After a while they all got inside they bank, to sort themselves out, after which they got out and left in their vehicles.

  • Police arrest soldier suspected of killing 11 in Cape Verde

    A soldier suspected of killing 11 people in a shooting spree at a military base in Cape Verde was arrested on Wednesday, a media report said.

    The report said that the man is suspected of murdering eight members of the military and three civilians, citing police officials.

    The reasons behind the massacre on the Atlantic archipelago’s Santiago Island are not yet clear, although the Cape Verdean government has ruled out a terrorist motive and any link to drug smuggling.

    It implied that the culprit may have suffered from mental health problems.

    It said that among the three civilians killed were two Spanish technicians who had been maintaining the base.

  • Soldier killed as kidnappers abduct two foreigners

    Soldier killed as kidnappers abduct two foreigners

    •Two expatriates abducted  

    Gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, yesterday, killed a soldier and abducted two expatriates on the Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that the soldier was killed in a gun duel between security operatives attached to the expatriates and the hoodlums.

    The operatives were said to have tried to stop the abduction but were overpowered by the gunmen.

    The incident, which occurred at 8 am, was said to have caused pandemonium on the road.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said the expatriates and the security operatives ran into the kidnappers’ ambush.

    “The security operatives were security detail to the expatriates working with Setraco Construction Company. They came under heavy fire from the bushes. It was an ambush but they did not notice,” the source said.

    Some residents of Nembe Kingdom, who were returning by road to Yenagoa, the state capital, reportedly witnessed the incident.

    A driver, who gave his name simply as Monday, said: “It was like a movie scene. The soldiers were shooting and the men were also shooting. We saw blood everywhere when the soldiers removed the blood-soaked colleague and some expatriates.”

    Police spokesman Asinim Butswat, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), could not be reached for confirmation last night.