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  • 38 soldiers and need for justice

    38 soldiers and need for justice

    • By Tony Amokeodo

    “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

    There is no doubt that President Bola Tinubu inherited monumental assets and liabilities from his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, as the burdens associated with presiding over the affairs of over 200 million Nigerians are not for the faint-hearted. However, Tinubu has stated on many occasions that he is ready to tackle, head-on, the challenges arising from ruling the most populous country in Africa.

    It is on record that Tinubu has been doing his utmost since May 29, 2023, when he assumed office, to continue from where the previous administration left off regarding assets and liabilities, as the government is a continuous process.

    But one particular liability inherited by the Tinubu-led Federal Government is a gross injustice meted out to 38 senior officers who were prematurely retired by the Nigerian Army without cause. The situation was further exacerbated when the then leadership of the Nigerian Army refused to comply with valid court orders and the resolution of the National Assembly directing their reinstatement.

    One of the founding fathers of the United States, who was also a philosopher and the most influential intellectual in the US during his time, Benjamin Franklin, must be thinking of the unjust treatment inflicted on the 38 soldiers when he said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are outraged as those who are.”

    For the record, the 38 soldiers were forced into premature retirement on June 9, 2016, in an unjust exercise that affected nine major generals, 11 brigadier generals, seven colonels, and 11 lieutenant colonels. Incidentally, the news of their retirement on June 9, 2016, sent a wrong message, suggesting that it is an offence to offer meritorious service to Nigeria, as such patriotic officers can be dealt with by an overbearing leadership without due process. This is the fate of these 38 senior officers, who are now seeking justice and reinstatement from the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu.

    Read Also; NNPP dead, Kwankwaso ‘ll soon join APC – Ganduje

    It is worth noting that about seven of the 38 soldiers who were unjustly retired during the era of impunity that characterised the previous administration have secured court rulings ordering their reinstatement. However, the Nigerian Army has ignored these court verdicts.

    So, what were the reasons for their premature retirement from the Nigerian Army? The then spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. SK Usman claimed that the officers were compulsorily retired on “disciplinary grounds, serious offences.” According to Army authorities, these “serious offences” included partisanship during the 2015 general elections, involvement in arms procurement fraud, and jeopardising national security.

    The then Defence Minister, Brig. Gen. Mansur Dan-Alli (rtd), and the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Buratai (rtd), supported Usman’s statement, asserting that due process and a fair hearing were granted to all the officers, who were purportedly found guilty by a competent legal procedure.

    Buratai reportedly claimed, “It took us a painstaking procedure to ensure we did not pick innocent ones. We started with one inquiry from One Division GOC to the other. After that, we subjected it to legal review. After the legal review, we forwarded our recommendations to higher authorities for consideration. So, it took us time; we have our own process also; our administrative process dovetailing into legal review and so on.”

    However, it was later discovered that the 38 officers were never queried, charged, tried, or found guilty of any offence; they did not appear before any court martial. To further validate the claims that the officers were innocent of the allegations against them, it was reported that several of the affected senior officers were not even in Nigeria when they were compulsorily retired without a fair hearing.

    For instance, Lt. Col. Thomas Arigbe was a Directing Staff on a two-year Exchange Programme with the Ghana Armed Forces at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. He was lecturing in a class in Ghana when an SMS was sent to him about his premature retirement. Col. MA Suleiman, a national merit award winner for the safe rescue of several foreign hostages, was in Chad as a military attaché, where his experience in fighting insurgents was being utilised when he was also retired. This was also the case with Col. Hassan, who led the troops in recapturing Bulabulin and Damboa from Boko Haram in August 2014.

    But eight years after their unjust retirement, the 38 soldiers continue to hope for a better outcome from the country they had served with their lives on the line. They have also adopted constructive engagement with some stakeholders on the way forward, convinced that justice will prevail in their case.

    One such move was to approach a legal luminary and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), to take up the matter with the Federal Government. Falana has written a strongly worded letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Fagbemi (SAN), urging him to urgently intervene in the Nigerian Army’s refusal to comply with court orders regarding the wrongful compulsory retirement of 38 senior officers.

    Falana also, in a recent interview with journalists in Lagos, appealed to President Tinubu to intervene and reinstate the 38 soldiers without further delay. Incidentally, Falana is not new to this matter. He had previously intervened in the ordeal of certain soldiers and ensured their reinstatement.

    Regarding the need to reinstate the 38 soldiers, Falana said, “As the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, I wish to inform you that what happened to the 38 Army officers under the previous administration is incredible and unfortunate. I’m also using this medium to inform you that the infamous action on the 38 officers is patently illegal and unjustified.

    “The Nigerian Army cannot and should not be allowed to treat the valid and subsisting order of the National Industrial Court and the National Assembly resolution on the 38 officers with levity. Mr President, there is the need for you to intervene now because if you fail to intervene, the premature retirement of these 38 officers will send a wrong signal to serving military officers that it does not pay to offer selfless service to Nigeria.”

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the National Industrial Court had directed the reinstatement of the affected officers who had gone to court to challenge the injustice against them.

    “But the then military authorities and the present ones have continued to defy the court’s order. Several of the officers who felt the Army breached its extant rules and regulations in carrying out the retirements also took their complaints to the court to seek redress and clear their names, with the court ruling in their favour.

    “The development was after their appeal to former President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking his intervention and reinstatement, but there has been no response from the Presidency or the Nigerian Army up to date.”

    The seven officers who obtained judgments against the Nigerian Army are Maj. Gen. Ijioma, Cols. Hassan and Suleiman, and Lt. Cols. Thomas Arigbe, A.S. Muhammed, Dazang, and Mohammed. Two other officers also obtained National Assembly resolutions ordering their reinstatement.

    Some of the affected officers, who are still in their 40s, are optimistic that President Tinubu will carefully look into their cases and reinstate them in the interest of justice, so that they can continue to offer their military service to the country.

    Some analysts have also argued that if the Generals cannot be reinstated – because age and years of service have caught up with them – they should be paid their full entitlement, while the colonels and majors, who are much younger in age and years of service, still have a lot to contribute to the Force.

    These are few decided cases favouring the 38 soldiers: On June 28, 2022, Col. Danladi Hassan’s lawyers submitted a letter on his behalf to the office of the then Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), urging him to prevail on the Nigerian Army to obey the court orders that declared the retirement of their client illegal. The lawyers reminded Magashi that on January 25, 2022, they had forwarded to his office the judgment of the National Industrial Court that set aside the compulsory retirement of Hassan.

    The letter also noted that Hassan had been subjected to extreme hardship and emotional and psychological trauma for no less than six years, and still counting, “in disregard of a subsisting and valid judgment of the National Industrial Court, affirmed by the Court of Appeal, ordering our client’s reinstatement and payment of his salaries and allowances.”

    In 2018, the National Industrial Court in Abuja made a pronouncement in a suit filed by Col. Hassan, seeking N1 billion as damages against his compulsory retirement. The court ruled in favour of Col. Hassan and nullified his untimely retirement by the Army.

    The trial judge, Justice Sanusi Kado, held that the Nigerian Army failed to convince the court about the disciplinary grounds for the compulsory retirement of Hassan. The Army authorities, including the Nigerian Army Council, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Armed Forces Council, decided to appeal against the decision of the National Industrial Court.

    But in December 2021, Justice Stephen Adah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal (JCA—as he was then, as he is now in the Supreme Court Bench), read the lead judgment of the three-member Appeal Court panel, which vindicated Hassan again, saying that the appellants’ appeal was unmeritorious.

    The appellate court also noted that “it was in that respect that the court now held that the compulsory retirement of the claimant was declared null and void; letter of compulsory retirement also set aside and he was ordered to be reinstated and a letter issued to that effect, reinstating him into the Nigerian Army with all rights and privileges.”

    But the verdict, like others, has been ignored by the Nigerian Army.

    This writer is also calling on the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, to call for the files of these 38 officers and review their matter for reinstatement in line with court orders and the National Assembly resolution. It is a fact that the incident happened before you assumed office, but you owe it a duty to correct the injustice meted out to fellow officers.

    The time has come for AGF Fagbemi to do the needful as the Chief Law Officer of the country and ensure justice for the affected senior officers. The AGF should, as a matter of urgency, give sound legal advice to the President on the need to revisit the injustice on the 38 soldiers and reinstate them. In view of the avowed commitment of President Tinubu-led Federal Government to the rule of law and constitutionalism, concerted efforts must be made to put an end to the era of impunity that characterised the previous administration and give solace to the 38 soldiers.

    Nigerians expect nothing less over the travails of these 38 senior officers. Mr President, this is the time to demonstrate that you are a listening President with a passion for correcting the injustices of the past against fellow Nigerians. The fate of these soldiers is in your hands, asking for similar treatment – for posterity and a legacy that will stand the test of time.

    •Amokeodo, a senior journalist and media consultant, writes in from Abuja.

  • JUST IN: Pandemonium as Soldiers, Shi’ites clash in Abuja 

    JUST IN: Pandemonium as Soldiers, Shi’ites clash in Abuja 

    Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and soldiers clashed on Thursday afternoon resulting to gun battle at the popular Banex Plaza, Abuja. 

    The clash occurred just hours after the United States Embassy in Nigeria issued a security alert, warning its citizens about planned IMN protests in Abuja and other major cities on Friday.

    In the advisory, the US Embassy cautioned that demonstrations could lead to disruptions such as roadblocks, traffic congestion, and possible confrontations.

    Read Also: Four feared killed, officers, others injured as Police, Shi’ites clash in Kaduna

    “The Islamic Movement of Nigeria has called for demonstrations in Abuja and other major cities on Friday, March 28, 2025. Heavy traffic and other disruptions are possible. Based on past occurrences, protests may involve roadblocks, checkpoints, traffic congestion, and physical confrontations,” the embassy stated.

    The security warning listed potential protest locations, including Banex Plaza, Berger Junction, Unity Fountain, the National Human Rights Commission Head Office, Eagle Square, Area 10 Shopping Plaza, the National Mosque, Al-Noor Mosque, and Fouad Lababidi Mosque.

    Details of the incident is sketchy as at when filing this report. 

    Efforts to get the reaction of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Police Public Relations Officer, SO Josephine Adeh were futile as call and messages put across were not responded to. 

    Details shortly…… 

  • BREAKING: Soldiers feared dead as drunken driver rams into drills

    BREAKING: Soldiers feared dead as drunken driver rams into drills

    Many soldiers having their physical drills at the Myoung Barracks in Yaba, Lagos, have been feared dead after a drunken driven rammed into them.

    The incident occurred on Friday morning causing panic within the Nigerian Army Community in the Yaba and Ojuelegba areas. 

    It was gathered a vehicle with three occupants, all suspected to be intoxicated, lost control and drove into the soldiers doing their routine physical exercise at the Army Sports Camp.

    The Nation gathered that a lot of the soldiers sustained serious injuries with blood splashed all over the place.

    It was gathered that as soon as the accident occurred, one of the occupants of the vehicle fled but the other two were apprehended. 

    Read Also: Soldiers, civilians missing in terrorists’ ambush in Borno

    Their vehicle was also allegedly vandalised by the mob, which accused them of being suspected Yahoo Boys.

    The wounded soldiers, it was gathered, were rushed to the nearby Army Hospital.

    Spokesman for the Nigerian Army in Lagos, Lt.-Col. Olabisi Ayeni confirmed the incident and promised to provide details later.

    “It is true there was an accident this morning but I will provide details later,” he said. 

  • Nigerian soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny relive ordeal

    Nigerian soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny relive ordeal

    • Recall how they ran out of ammunition in heat of battle
    • Say Boko Haram inmates mocked us after our arrest
    • Our relations died of shock from death verdict
    • We’ve waited three years for our entitlements

    More than two years after they were granted pardon by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the 70 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny during the reign of former President Goodluck Jonathan are yet to be reabsorbed into the army or paid their entitlements. Their predicament smacks of injustice as a general who was sentenced together with them was said to have had his rank restored and entitlements paid after they were pardoned. There are fears that if living soldiers who put their lives on the line for the country could be so treated, chances are that the praises that government heaped on fallen heroes on Wednesday might be nothing more than lip service, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    Yodele Olawale, a native of Ayede Ikale area of Ogun State, had a great admiration for the army from childhood. From admiring the profession, the young lad began to develop an undying aspiration for membership of the military.

    He told our correspondent that his unbridled love for the army began when he used to go to his grandmother for holidays.

    Ayodelesaid: “There was this barrack, the 19th Battalion on the way to my hometown from Okitipupa. I normally saw some military personnel there.

    “The way they used to kit up and their neatness made me to develop a passion for the profession.

    “In those days, there was this event called the National Day when they moved all the children to the stadium for march past and all that. They also did a kind of show of force among other things. That was where I picked the interest from.

    “So, right from primary school, I had told myself that I would become a military officer.”

    In January 2003, Ayodele had his childhood dream fulfilled as he enlisted in the Nigerian Army. 

    “When I completed the training, I was posted to Jaji in Kaduna State. I was posted to 82 Demonstration Battalion,” he recalled.

    After staying in the barracks for some time, the young officer left for the battlefield in January 2013.

    He said: “My name came out on Part 1 Order that we were going to Mali. That was when the belligerents had battles with Mali. They wanted to take over Bamako.

    “ECOWAS was meant to donate the force to chase them away and I was part of the special force.

    “President Goodluck Jonathan asked that all special forces be put together so that we would go to Mali. I was picked from my battalion in Plateau State.

    “We were to assemble at Jaji in Kaduna so that all of us would move from there to Mali.”

    Unfortunately, Ayodele said, some colleagues who were coming from Lagos were attacked in Lokoja, Kogi State, and that destabilised their movement. As a result, instead of going to Mali, they were diverted to Maiduguri where bullets and bombs boomed endlessly.

    “In Maiduguri, we went on different operations, and by God’s grace, we prevailed,” Ayodele said as he painted vivid pictures of the bloody battles at the warfronts.

    “But in all of these operations, when you are carrying AK-47 and you want to fight somebody that is carrying GPMG, RPG, MG or BMG, you are just wasting your time.

    “Because of the training we had, however, it is not the gun that matters in many cases but the man behind it.

    “What we always did was, ‘okay, Oga, they are coming. That man behind the MG (machine gun), make sure you bring him down.

    “That was always our target and that was how we were gaining victory. But the chance was slim.

    “We kept telling our bosses that things were not supposed to be like this, but they would not listen until we went for a particular operation where almost 60 soldiers were killed for the failure of the senior officers.” 

    Continuing, Ayodele said: “We went for this very one, and by the grace of God, we tried the best we could do to pin the terrorists down but the people prevailed over us because of lack of ammunition.

    “In fact, that day, they killed my OC, Captain Ayuba; an OC in a battalion. To make matters worse, they caught his manhood.

    “These people are deadly. We attacked, attacked and attacked until we ran out of ammunition.

    “At that point, we started calling for reinforcements. Amour, amour, amour, we yelled. Meanwhile, the people behind had run away, leaving only the ones on the frontline.”

    Ayodele said the enemies understood that the soldiers were in trouble the moment they started calling for amour.

    “They understood that the ammunition was not there. They flanked us by the right, by the left, front and back.

    “Before we knew it, everywhere was flooded with Boko Haram soldiers.  It was a serious situation. I feel pain whenever I remember it.”

    How I escaped from danger zone

    Asked how he survived the onslaught, Ayodele said: “If you ask me that question a hundred times, I will tell you that God in his mercy rescued me.

    “That is why I titled a book I have authored Rescued by the Heavens: A Soldier’s Tale in the Lines of Duty.

    “God in his mercy rescued me. I crawled for miles before God helped me to escape through the bush.”

    After managing to crawl out of the heavily bombarded zone, Ayodele found himself in the hands of people he could not describe as friends or foes.

    He said: “I got to a place where I entered into Fulanis’ hands. I did not know whether they were the enemies I was running from.

    “But they took me into their hut and gave me a jalabia (Islamic gown).

    “In my mind, I was telling myself that hey, you are in the midst of the people you were running from.”

    “It is not a funny matter,” Ayodele thundered as our reporter, amused by his story, began to laugh. 

    Crippled by fear, Ayodele mapped out plans to flee the place.

    He said: “The moment they went out, I could not tell whether they had gone to tell their people to come and take me.

    “I had to climb to their hut. I cut it and came out. I did not trust them because it was a ground where I knew nobody.

    “It was a desert; a ground where you walked many kilometres and you would not see any building. It was just the hut. I cut the thatched roof and escaped.

    “I started crawling again until I began to see an MTN mast.

    “When I got close to the mast, I started hearing the sound of vehicles and I began to trace the sound.

    “When I saw a military convoy, I was forced to come out and I raised my hands.

    “Some of them cocked their rifles, but one of them was able to recognise me with our badge.

    “I was taken to the hospital.” 

     The great deceit

    Providing further details on why they failed in that operation, Ayodele said “an intelligence report showed us that those people had been there since 2003, meaning that they had become a strong force, and we wanted to go and fight them in 2013.

    “Intelligence report showed us that we must be ready for the war we were going to fight. As a result, we called for an Alpha jet to go ahead of us to soften the ground by releasing some bombs.

    “The jet actually came to meet us at the camp and we were all motivated. But on getting to the theatre ground, the Alpha jet was nowhere to be found.

    “There was a particular gun that was also supposed to go with us. We call that gun striker. It is a very powerful gun. Anywhere you have the gun, Boko Haram would not come close to the location at all.

    “The gun was with us at the camp, and we left the camp together with it.

    Read Also: Soldiers, civilians missing in terrorists’ ambush in Borno

    “Do you know Ajah (Lagos) area very well? Let’s say we wanted to come and fight at Ajah and our take-off point was Bonny Camp.

    “Taking off from Bonny Camp, we had moved to say Ikate. But without telling us anything, the gun was turned back.

    “We were later told that the reason it was turned back was that the vehicle that carried it developed a fault and could not manage to proceed to Ajah where the theatre ground was.

    “Yet the same truck could move from where it turned back to Oshodi.

    “The same thing happened with the Alpha jet. After coming to do a show of force and motivating us, it took off and went to its landing zone to land.

    “That was how they pushed us into the hands of the enemies such that they were able to ambush us and did whatever they liked with us.

    “They killed more than 60 of our men. For me to be talking today is only by God’s grace. That is why I titled my book Rescued by Heaven.”

    Army authorities accuse officers of mutiny

    At the height of the Boko Haram war, checks showed that three sets of soldiers making up 70 officers were separately rounded up, court-martialed and sentenced to death.

    There was a set of four, a set of 12 and a set of 54.  Ayodele was among the set of four.

    Narrating their ordeal, Ayodele said: “The brigade commander came back to the office and said we were going back to the place (theatre ground). The same place we went to without sufficient ammunition and the insurgents enveloped and killed us is where you want us to go back to with 60 rounds.

    “Let’s be sincere; if it was you, would you? They said we were going back there to recover the bodies of our men. 

    “Yes, we wanted to recover the bodies of our men, but should we go again with just 60 rounds?

    “On that note, we said we were ready to go, but you have to give us weapons fit for such an operation.

    “As such, they said that it was a mutiny.

     “We were court-martialed and were given two-count charges: mutiny and conspiracy to mutiny.

    “We were given death sentences on both of them. We accepted everything in good faith.

    “The court martial was held in Abuja. From Abuja were moved to underground detention in Lagos. 

    How I felt after death sentence

    Reliving how he felt after the death sentence was passed, Ayodele said: “I had been calm in all of this because I believe in justice. I believed that justice would be served at the court martial.

    “But we got there and found that the whole thing was changed and that sentence came on 24th December when everybody was preparing for Christmas.

    “In my own case, Femi Falana took the matter up, and at a time they commuted the death sentence to 10 years imprisonment. Then we went to the appeal court.

    “I joined the army with a school certificate. But when I got to prison and found that there was an opportunity to study, I quickly enrolled and was given a course: Peace Study and Conflict Resolution.

    “I felt that since the sentence had been commuted to 10 years imprisonment, it would not make sense for me to be there wasting my life when there is an educational system in the prison.

    “I put up for a BSc course, and by the grace of God, I was in my 200 level and was writing my exam when we got the information that the Appeal Court had set four of us free.

    Not yet uhuru

    Years after their freedom and pardon by former President Muhammadu Buhari, Ayodele and his colleagues are yet to be re-absorbed or paid off by the Nigerian Army.

    They are pained that a general who was similarly sentenced has had his rank restored and his benefits paid.  

    “The truth is that when somebody is discharged by the court, the army is supposed to reabsorb us and pay back everything that is needed, but they refused.

    “After they refused, Buhari gave all of us pardon. Till today, the army has not done anything. 

    ”This same pardon was given to General Kuti in the same manner that we were given.  General Kuti has without delay received all his benefits. What is the reason for delaying ours?”

    Life, according to Ayodele, has not been easy after their freedom. “This is why I am crying to the government and Nigerians in general to come to our aid.

    “It is painful when you put in your best to serve your nation for reasonable years for that matter and thrown out of the system like that.

    “The government will arrest Boko Haram terrorists in the act and grant them pardon at the end of the day. They establish them and give them money.

    “Ironically, we that put our lives on the line for the country are being treated like this.”

    Encounter with terrorists in prison

    Recalling his encounter with some terrorists in prison, Ayodele said: “I was in Kirikiri Prison with some Boko Haram members. They mocked us all the time. They asked for a bet to see who would leave the prison first. Shockingly, they left the prison before us.

    “I have been managing my life with the work I am doing with a security company.  I still send something to some of my colleagues from the little I am earning.

    “As I am speaking with you now, my son is supposed to be in school but he is at home.”

    How our harmless request led us to Golgotha – Sunday Godwin

    Sharing his experience, Sunday Godwin, who until his ordeal was a member of the set of 54 sentenced officers, said: “What led to this issue of mutiny was because of the equipment we asked from our commander.

    “He promised to give us equipment for any operation we wanted to embark on. But before we knew it, the commander now said the GOC wanted to meet with us but that we should not be with our firearms.

    “The GOC told the commander that he did not want to see us again. Military police detained all of us. We began to ask, what have we done?

    “We never knew that it was an offense that we committed by asking for equipment.”

    Godwin said before they made their request, he and his colleagues were not aware that the federal government had released some billions of dollars for the Nigerian military to purchase firearms.

    He said: “We making requests for equipment meant we were exposing them. They flew us from Maiduguri to Abuja.

    “Subsequently, they brought the charge sheet for us. The charge against us was criminal conspiracy to commit mutiny.

    “During the court martial, they changed charges more than four times because they didn’t know the particular charges to give to us.

    “In December 2014, we were sentenced to death by firing squad.”

    Asked how they felt after the sentence was passed, Godwin said: “We felt very bad. We used to pray before then, but thereafter, every hope was lost.

    “Nobody felt like praying to God again,  especially me. I told some of my colleagues that we used to pray together that they should never wake me up again to pray. It was as if there was no God. We lost hope.

    “During the process of the court, we were promised by the judges of the court martial that we would need to go home and see and celebrate with our families that December.

    “But on the day of the judgment, the president of the court martial received a call. We never knew that the call was from the office of the Chief of Army Staff, giving him orders that we should be sentenced.”

    Godwin said after the sentence was commuted to 10 years imprisonment, “we served that number of years.

    “In April 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari, with the efforts of Femi Falana, made sure we got a presidential pardon.”

    Also decrying what appears like an injustice by the authorities, Godwin said: “President Muhammadu Buhari granted us presidential pardon along with General Kuti.

    “The annoying part of it now is that General Kuti who was pardoned along with us has been settled since two years now.

    “He was paid and his rank that was demoted from Brigadier General to Colonel was also restored. He was also paid all his entitlements.

    “The question we are asking the Nigerian Army is if General Kuti could be paid his entitlements, what happened that we the 70 soldiers that were also pardoned alongside General Kuti have not been given our entitlements? Why have we not been restored?

    “Normally, as we have received presidential pardon, they are supposed to pay us all our outstanding and restore our ranks.

    Many colleagues’ parents died of shock after our death sentence 

    Another member of set 54 soldiers sentenced to death, John Wuyep, told The Nation that many of his colleagues lost their parents and relations following the shock they suffered from the devastating verdict.

    “We weren’t expecting death sentence, because as a matter of fact, we felt we didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

    “In fact, we were expecting that they would do the needful to grant us freedom because we were only making a humble request to be better equipped.

    “We didn’t say we weren’t going to fight. We didn’t say we weren’t going for the operations. We only requested to be better equipped, because when the commanding officer came in, he promised that he would not allow us to go for any operation if they didn’t provide what we needed.”

    Personally, he said, “I felt very bad and disappointed when the sentence was passed. I felt disappointed because that was not what I signed for and that was not what I was looking for.

    “I am from a military background. My dad was an officer and my elder brother too is in the military. So, joining the military, that was not what I was expecting.

    “I spoke with my dad when everything was going on. He even told me that the charges against us were a very serious offence in the army. But we knew they just put it on us to make it very, very serious.

    “They could have charged us for refusing order. But they knew that if they should charge us for refusing order, it would just be a minor punishment. So they wanted to make it strong. That was why they charged us with mutiny.

    “I felt, well, I know this is democracy, this is a civilian regime. They would not kill us, but it would take time before the case would end.

    “That was all I thought in my mind. I just tried to brace myself. But it wasn’t easy.

    “As a matter of fact, after the sentence, the next day, one of our colleagues lost his mother because of that news.

    “I think after two months or so, another colleague lost his mother too.

    “While we were on that issue, several colleagues lost their relations.”

    John further said: “One of our colleagues had his father shouting his name. The man was rushed to the hospital and he later died.

    “The only thing that helped us was that we encouraged ourselves. And to the glory of God, we are all still alive.

    “But we felt very bad, we felt disappointed, we felt discouraged even joining the job. They didn’t treat us in line with what we had done for them.

    “They didn’t look at our past glory, the successes we had achieved. They just looked at the little that happened at that moment, to use it against us in spite of every other good thing we did in the North East.”

     Asked if the military authorities had paid their entitlements, John said: “At the moment, it has not been done. As a matter of fact, we are supposed to be reinstated, paid our outstanding salaries and allowances, and then everything continues.

    “According to what we heard, the military authorities said due to one reason or the other, they would not want us to come back into the system.

    “Maybe they feel we might be a bad influence on others or so. They don’t want to condone any indiscipline or whatever. That’s the military for you.

    “We are discouraged by what has happened. We don’t even want to continue with the job anymore.

    “They should pay all our entitlements and we go. That is what we’ve been waiting for, for over three years now.”

    According to John, the military spokesperson, General Nwachukwu, said “our service number is not on the list for the gazette, and we have not come to them for proper documentation or filling out forms.

    “We already understand that the Army has a procedure of how they do their things, and there’s no way we can go to them if they don’t invite us.

    “If we go to them on our own, they will tag us differently. So we cannot go to them.

    “If he’s claiming that it is because we have not come to them, or our service number has not been provided that is why they have not attended to us, they should invite us even tomorrow and see if we will not come.

    “Moreover, they can contact the lawyer to provide the service number, if that is the issue.”

    Army, Senate decline comment

    Our efforts to get the reaction of the Nigerian Army were unsuccessful.

    The spokesman, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, did not respond to our messages via text and WhatsAPP. The text message returned with a reply that the message was delivered.

    The WhatsApp message also showed that the message was delivered and read (with two blue lines) by the recipient.

    Our efforts to also speak with Senate Committee Chairman on Army, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’adua were also not successful.

    Like his army counterpart, the senator also did not respond to our text and WhatsApp messages even when the network provider showed that they were delivered and read by the lawmaker.

  • Soldiers, civilians missing in Borno ambush

    Soldiers, civilians missing in Borno ambush

    An unspecified number of soldiers and civilians is missing after an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists in Baga, a Nigerian community along the fringes of Lake Chad.

    Reports from different quarters said the soldiers were ambushed while trying to recover dead bodies of 40 farmers from the community killed by the terrorists. Several soldiers were killed in the gun duel that ensued.

    Although the military authorities are yet to issue an official confirmation about the incident, residents said about 50 men, including civilians, a joint task force and local vigilantes, went to recover the bodies of those killed on Tuesday but only one person had returned.

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    “I don’t know the casualty on the side of the military as such I cannot talk about it, but the civilians include civilian joint task force members, hunters and vigilantes,” the local source told Channels Television.

    But a military source quoted by Channels Television said some troops went in search of the bodies but were ambushed by the terrorists.

    “There was an exchange of fire, they killed some of our soldiers. We are yet to ascertain the number because the dead bodies are yet to be collected and some soldiers are still returning to base, so we are yet to know the number of deaths,” the source said. 

  • How soldiers’ involvement in civilian affairs undermines civil-military relations

    How soldiers’ involvement in civilian affairs undermines civil-military relations

    • By Lekan Olayiwola

    The trend of using military personnel to supervise or protect construction sites in some residential areas in Lagos State is very worrisome. It is an aberration to say the least. Civil contractors wishing to protect themselves, their assets, personnel or project sites from the harassment of thugs increasingly hire soldiers and station them permanently on the construction sites as guards. In fact, it would appear that a whole battalion is deployed as a full complement of ranking officers of the rank of colonels and other ranks seem to be involved in the parade. In trying to solve one social problem, these civil contractors and their military patrons end up creating another social problem, one that borders on human security.

    Why engage the military in the protection of non-sensitive public infrastructure like a trunk B or C road which is under construction? Why not use the police or the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps that are more appropriate to the situation?

    One school of thought believes that street urchins do not fear the police, much less the Nigrrian Civil Defence Corps that now bear arms also. But they hardly would dare the military.

    Rather than paying compliment to the army, this disposition is an indictment on the policing structure and architecture in Nigeria. How is it that it is easy for civilians to engage the Nigerian armed forces for civil policing job to the extent that soldiers become agents of brutality and insecurity in our communities? Is this part of their constitutional role?

    This article arose from the grief I felt from reports on how soldiers brutalise and extort money from civilians in my neighbourhood in the name of guarding road construction works in the area. The soldiers have turned the area into a police territory and also assumed the job of policing and adjudicating on crime and conflicts amongst residents. Their nefarious activities are reported on almost a daily basis and it saddens me to note that those who are supposed to give citizens a sense of security are the very ones who have turned themselves into a serious threat to human security in the society. I heard of one case in which a man was accused of theft by his neighbours; the soldiers tortured the suspect by standing right on his chest and inserting the nozzle of a riffle right into his anus. I learnt his bloodied body was later handed over to the police area command in an unconscious state.

    There was another instance of how the soldiers caught some street urchins who had mounted a road block on an alternative route in order to extort money from motorists. The soldiers on guard duty in the area proceeded to torture them to the point that the rib of one of them got broken in the process.  There was yet another case where the soldiers caught two youthful residents fighting over a girlfriend and stripped them almost naked before subjecting them to serious flogging across the chest with electrical cables. They had asked the brawling duo to lie on their back in the very dusty road under construction with face toward the blinding ray of the sun. The young girl who was the cause of the dispute was not spared the corporal punishment either. Each of them were reportedly forced to part with N2,000 to secure their release.

    On many occasions, the soldiers on duty would arrest commercial motorcyclists and tricycle riders plying the yet to be completed roads, seize their vehicles and demand hefty amounts of money (minimum N10,000 ) before releasing them again. When a supposed traffic offender was caught commuting on the yet to be finished road, the soldiers would arrest them, seize their vehicle and demand a bribe before releasing them. If the offender pleaded to be let off for a lesser amount of money than demanded, the soldiers threatened to drag him to their senior commander where he would have to pay a higher sum. Fearing such prospect, the hapless victim was forced to part with an amount he could ill afford. And yes, any attempt to make the payment using electronic transfer was rejected. All the illegal charges, (more accurately, extortions) must be paid in cash apparently in order not leave any traces or evidence that could bring trouble later if the victims chose to pursue redress.

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    The soldiers were perceived as agents of terrorism in the eyes of the residents who were forced to live in fear. The relationship between the civilians and the military was not that of respect, but of anxiety, fear and resentment. Of course, because the soldiers were permanently stationed in the area, some semblance of relationship seemed to exist between them and some of the residents, especially shopkeepers whose shops sometimes provided shade from the scorching heat of the sun and a place to buy food, drinks and other personal effects. But it was an anxious relationship brokered with the barrel of the gun.

    The people tried to avoid the soldiers like a dreaded disease. Sighting a soldier sitting in a shed or standing around a street corner did not project to the people a sense of their own security. Rather, it reminded the “bloody” civilians of their own vulnerability. And it appeared that the soldiers themselves relished the perception of being feared; like the Roman emperor Nero, they didn’t seem to care very much whether they are loved by the people as long as they were feared by the very people they were being paid to protect! The cases cited above were recorded in just one community. There were other similar reports or worse from other areas.

    The net effect of allowing the military to be used in this manner is that it further erodes whatever respect and confidence that the citizens still have in the Nigerian military as an agency of state 24 odd years after the last military dictatorship relinquished power to the civilian leaders of the country in 1999. With the way the military is getting deeply involved in civilian affairs, howbeit with debilitating impact, one would ask whether we are not returning to a police state. This is not good for the already strained military-civil relations.

    The current brass of military authorities seem to be working tirelessly to bring the nation back from the brink of collapse at the hands of bandits and terrorists threatening the security of the nation. Their efforts should not be sabotaged by the unprofessional and unconstitutional use of the military in civilian affairs. In the fight against insurgency, the military relies on information flow from the residents in conflicted areas. But if trust and respect which a good civil-military relationship relies upon is undermined in the way and manner described above, the people would be less inclined to relate with, let alone share information with soldiers who are perceived as hostile, brutal and extortionate.

    The military should not allow itself to be dragged into the routine task of community policing. At least, they should be wary of descending into such barbaric acts mentioned in this article. While appreciating their sacrifice in safeguarding the nation, especially from internal rebellion at this time, the activities of common thugs do not require the deployment of detachments of gun totting soldiers. The already tenuous relationship between civilians and the military should not be further eroded by the indiscriminate and undisciplined use of military personnel in civil society.

    •Olayiwola is a peace and conflict researcher and practitioner.

  • Gunmen, soldiers gunfight leaves one dead in Imo

    Gunmen, soldiers gunfight leaves one dead in Imo

    • ‘No soldier died’

    A fierce gun battle between soldiers and gunmen in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State has left one dead and many injured.

    But the Army said only one bandit was killed.

    The attack occurred at the Aba branch in Ehime Mbano about 9pm, sources told The Nation.

    The source said: “Some non-state actors attacked and killed some soldiers in the area yesterday. The whole place is on fire, and troops have taken over nearby communities.”

    Residents fled in panic as shootings rent the air, creating a climate of fear and uncertainty.

    “We are terrified,” said a resident, who wished to remain anonymous. “The sound of gunfire is still echoing in our ears. We don’t know what will happen next. We are worried, Ehime used to be a serene environment, we don’t know what is happening,” he added.

    Read Also; 13 repentant terrorists escape with govt rifles in Borno

    A disturbing video circulating online showed armed gunmen storming the Ehime-Mbano army camp, setting operational vehicles ablaze and chanting ominous battle songs.

    The masked assailants,who identified themselves as “the angels,” gloated about their takeover.

    “We are the angels! The angels are here!” they chanted. “The army has run away. Why are they running? They should stand and face us.”

    However, the Army denied the killing of its men, saying that the gunmen stormed the Ehime Mbano Council Secretariat, but were repelled by the soldiers.

  • Soldiers arrest 26 suspected illegal miners in Ondo

    Soldiers arrest 26 suspected illegal miners in Ondo

    Soldiers attached to the 32 Artillery Brigade, Nigerian Army, have arrested 26 suspected illegal miners operating in Ondo State.

    The suspects were arrested at various illegal mining sites at Gate, Modebiayo, Kokuma, Obado, Okesa, Amasiko, Adoba, Abanasiru and Obadonu communities, in Ondo West Local Government Area.

    Acting Assistant Director Army Public Relations, Captain Irabor Njoka, in a statement, said items recovered from the suspects include seven mobile phones, 21 head pans, four cutlasses, 12 shovels, 12 painter buckets, foot rest/carpets and sack containing clothes.

    Read Also: Notorious terrorist Halilu Sububu shot dead  by soldiers

    Captain Njoka said the clampdown on illegal miners was a clear indication that troops of 32 Artillery Brigade were committed to protecting the country’s critical infrastructures and getting the Brigade’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) rid of all forms of criminal activities and economic sabotage. 

    He said the suspects have been handed over to the Ondo Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

  • Army explains regular publication of disengaged soldiers

    Army explains regular publication of disengaged soldiers

    • Military debunks alleged mass soldiers’ resignation

    The Nigerian Army has explained why it regularly publishes the names of soldiers it disengages from the service.

    It said soldiers’ disengagement from service is “routine and in line with laid down procedures”.

    The Nigerian Army made the clarification in a statement yesterday in Abuja by its spokesman, Maj.-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu.

    The explanation came on the heels of a report alleging mass resignation of soldiers due to poor welfare and corruption.

    But Nwachukwu described the allegations as false, unfounded, and a “deliberate attempt to sow the seeds of disaffection and acrimony, as well as denigrate the patriotic service of personnel and reputation of the Nigerian Army”.

    He added: “Consequently, it is crucial to clarify that service in the Nigerian Army, like most militaries the world over, is voluntary and not conscriptive. This, therefore, provides that individuals are free and at liberty to disengage at will. The situation is the same as the Nigerian Army personnel are at liberty to disengage from time to time, in accordance with laid-down procedures, as contained in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (Officers/Soldiers) alike.

    Read Also: Many die as soldiers, bandits battle in Plateau community

    “Discharge from the Nigerian Army is routine and in line with laid-down procedures. Only in an unorganised army would the discharge of personnel be handled haphazardly; hence, the compilation and release of names routinely, as must have been observed in the case of the Nigerian Army over the years.

    “This process allows for personnel who are about to either mandatorily or voluntarily disengage to adequately prepare and process entitlements, emoluments, pensions, and gratuity for the period of service to the nation.

    “In the instance cited in the hasty and haphazardly compiled report, due diligence was not taken to ascertain the reasons for the discharge of the personnel, other than the spurious allegation of low morale and corruption.”

  • NASFA graduates 47 officers, 358 soldiers, personnel from Gambia, Cameroon

    NASFA graduates 47 officers, 358 soldiers, personnel from Gambia, Cameroon

    Four hundred and fifty Armed personnel, including operatives from Gambia and Cameroon have graduated from the Second Quarter Course of the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA) .

    Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army), Major General Adetokunbo Fayemiwo, stated during the graduation ceremony of the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration Second Quarter Course at NASFA Auditorium. 

    Fayemiwo commended the Republic of Cameroon and Gambia for their effective liaison and commitment towards improvement on the military aspects of their countries’ bilateral relations with Nigeria. He said two officers from Cameroon and one soldier from Gambia participated in the course.

    He also congratulated the graduands from allied brothers and sister African countries, noting that their successful attendance of their  members of the armed forces from Cameroon and Gambia in NASFA has fostered a better relationship between the countries. 

    He urged them to use the knowledge and experience gathered to strengthen true African brotherhood as well as promote international peace and cooperation.

    Fayemiwo also stressed the importance of the 12- week training, adding that mission-oriented and realistic training will enable the Nigerian Army to win all land battles and confront other security threats in the country. 

    Explaining further, the Army Chief of Accounts and Budget said he has placed training as a pivotal cardinal of his mission statement, which is to bequeath a Corps  that is  “proactive and proficiency in delivering financial services to support the Nigerian Army in accomplishing  assigned missions in defence of Nigeria.” 

    He added, that his mission  statement  is aimed at enhancing transparency in all Nigerian  Army Financial transactions, improve compliance with extant regulations and minimise waste in defence expenditure, likewise  reempasizes the role of NAFC in the dynamics of the transition of public financial management policies of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the need to optimize goals of the corps in support of the Nigerian Army in all phases of war.

    According to him: “Developing highly skilled and competent officers and men at all levels will effectively confront the ever-changing 21st century security challenges. 

    He charged the graduates to remain good ambassadors of NASFA by exhibiting the highest standards in both professional and personal conduct.

    Fayemiwo emphasised that NAFC will continue to engage in training and retraining of personnel both in the school and other platforms with an overriding commitment to optimising the vision of the Chief of Army Staff and a better security architecture for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He called for synergy among all military and para-military security agencies, in order to defeat the insecurity challenge confronting the country.

    Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration, Major General Julius Osifo, disclosed that 405 students, including armed forces personnel from Gambia and Cameroon, graduated  in the second quarter in Seven different Course. 

    Osifo, while revealing that the Second Quarter Course was the First time  International Students will be participating in training in NASFA, added that courses include Classroom trainings. Field Exercise, Practical tests and Study Tour with the famous Exercise Cowry.

    Read Also: Soldiers involved in extortion won’t go scot-free, Army chief warns troops

    Assuring that graduands are better trained  and equipped  with knowledge and everything required to soar to  the highest of their  carrier , Osifo explained that  Nigerian School of Finance and Administration(NASFA), the training arm of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps, has produced 5,089  graduates with National Diploma and Higher National Diploma respectively including personnel of the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Police and other security and para-military agencies.

    He stressed that NASFA is the only school in the entire Nigerian Army that trains  Clerks for all orderly rooms across Nigeria. 

    Osifo said  the school presently conduct two major courses, first in the academic programme were the NASFA awards National Diploma and Higher National Diploma in Accountancy,  and Office Technology and Management. 

    He stressed that the courses are permitted by the National Board for Technical Education to train personnel and award the National Diploma and Higher National Diploma in both Accountancy and Secretarial Studies which is now redesigned as the Office Technology and Management.

    He informed in addition to the academic courses, NASFA conduct upgrading courses for Finance, Clerk and Record Clerks, record clerk duties and has recently introduce Chief Clerk Course for twelve weeks.

    He pointed out the courses taken during the second quarter course include Command Division Finance Account Course,  Staff Officer Grade 2 Payment Course, Young Officers Course ( for officers) and Nigerian Army Chief Clerk Course, Clerk General Duties Basic 2 Course, Record Clerk Basic 2 Course and Financial A3 Course (For Soldiers)

    In their goodwill messages Lt-col Albert ELONG, Deputy Defence Attaché Cameroon and Commordore Assan Sarr,  Defence Adviser to Gambia High Commission- Abuja commended NASFA for the implementation of organised mission oriented training in the school, lauded the successful attendance of members of their armed forces( both Cameron and Gambia)at the various courses in  the school  which they said will  promote international peace  and cooperation  as well as strengthen true  African brotherhood. 

    The Defence Adviser to Gambia High Commission, Sarr said training  of Gambia armed forces by NASFA  in clerical couses will enhance strong bi lateral ties, revealed that Gambia has benefitted from the capacity building programme with the Nigerian Arms and Security Services. 

    The Deputy Defence Attaché Cameroon  Lt-Col Albert ELONG, commended NASFA for its Mastery of resources on how to solve  logistic issues, as well custodian of values and knowledge.

    He urged graduands to represent NASFA well ensuring the efficiency, accountability and sustainability of all military activities and operations as well as make contributions to the Financial and Administrative sectors of their respective commands and units.