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Tag: soldiers

  • Aregbesola: Don’t misuse soldiers during elections

    Aregbesola: Don’t misuse soldiers during elections

    Osun State Rauf Aregbesola  has urged Nigerians to reject the use of soldiers for electoral duty, stressing that it is counter-productive.

    The governor, who spoke at the launch of the Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem at Osogbo, the state capital, said the people should reject any plan to use the military to intimidate civilians during and after the general elections.

    He recalled that soldiers were mobilised against civilians during the last osun State governorship election.

    The governor, who launched the emblem with N2.5 million, explained that he would have done more for the military, if the state has not started to feel the impact of the cash crunch.

    Aregbesola described the election as a historic event, urging the people to vote wisely. He said the exercise should put an end to the peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership at the centre.

    He said: “It is a great misnomer and misuse of the military and  resources for soldiers to be deployed as instruments for abridging the citizens’ freedom and liberty, and to intimidate and bully them for the sinister purpose of gaining electoral advantage.

    “This we have witnessed on several occasions in recent times when the government at the centre unleashed combat-ready soldiers on the populace in a purely civil matter of vote casting by law-abiding citizens.

    “More alarming is the fact that this happened at a time when a part of the country had been taken over by a terrorist group, whose dislodgement should have been a matter of high national security priority.

    “Such inexcusable abuse of authority and citizens’ trust ought to trigger in any right-thinking citizen a deep sense of patriotic indignation.”

    The governor advised the  military to set up special vocations centres for soldiers to acquire new skills.

    He described military service as a distinctly peculiar profession, adding that soldiers are expected to put their lives on the line in the defense of the nation.

    Aregbesola said Nigerians should hold soldiers in high esteem  as defender of the territorial integrity of the country.

    The Deputy Commandant-General and Chairman of Nigerian Legion  in Osun State, Col. Alimi Samotu (rtd), called on the Federal government to pay the 20 per cent balance of pension arrears to avoid protest by ex-servicemen.

    He said: “The fallen heroes being remembered today deserve the honour because of the supreme sacrifice they made particularly during the Nigerian Civil war.

    “The gallant fighters lost their lives on the battle field without a farewell to their parents, wives, children and other dependants and many who did not die became maimed.”

  • UN may seek clemency for 54 convicted soldiers

    The United Nations (UN) may intervene to stop the execution of 54 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny by a military court martiaL.

    The Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions, Mr. Christof Heyns, stated at the weekend that “appropriate action including communication to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan is being considered regarding the imminent execution of 54 soldiers in Nigeria.”

    The move to intercede and save the lives of the convicted soldiers was in response to a petition sent to the body by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in December 2014.

    In the petition, SERAP had requested from Mr Heyns, five UN human rights independent experts to individually and jointly use their “good offices and positions to urgently request the Nigerian government and its military authorities not to carry out the mass death sentences imposed on 54 Nigerian soldiers for what the government claimed was disobeying a direct order from their commanding officer.”

    Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni who disclosed this in a statement dated 4 January 2015 said the organization, “SERAP “has been in discussion with Johel Dominique at the Office of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions both on the telephone and via email.

    “Johel Dominique has confirmed that the Special Rapporteur is considering appropriate action to avert the imminent execution of 54 soldiers on death row in the country. We have also confirmed to the Special Rapporteur that SERAP has the consent of Mr Femi Falana, SAN, the legal counsel to the 54 soldiers to file the petition.”

    “SERAP welcomes the decision by Mr. Christof Heyns to intervene in the matter. Given his longstanding human rights commitment and achievements, we have absolutely no doubt that Mr Heyns will work assiduously to ensure that justice is done in this matter and we wish him well as he strives to do that,” Mumuni stated.

    It would be recalled that SERAP had in a petition dated 23 December 2014 and addressed to five special rapporteurs stated that, “It is not right or fair to try everyone in mass proceedings, and that such unfair trial should not send someone to the gallows. Imposition of mass death sentences is in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a party. This Covenant limits the circumstances in which a state can impose the death sentence.”

    The five special rapporteurs include Christof Heyns, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Juan Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Pablo de Greiff, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Mads Andenas, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.

    SERAP had described  the courts-martial held in secret were “a mockery of justice” and ignored issues raised by the condemned men that “suggest lack of transparency, accountability and general deficiencies” in the handling of the security budget and arms purchases.

  • Fallen soldiers’ kids seek end to insurgency

    Fallen soldiers’ kids seek end to insurgency

    It is difficult trying to survive without one’s parents…It is our prayer that the insurgency in the Northeast will soon be a thing of the past and the areas affected would be rebuilt.”

    This was the prayer of Master Abdullahi Mohammed, a primary school pupil who lost his father to insurgency attack.

    Mohammed was one of the pupils who largely depend on humanitarian support from Support Our Troops Foundation.

    He continued: “Laying down one’s life in the interest of one’s nation is largely regarded as a national honour and we pray that their labour put in while containing the insurgents will not go in vain. We pray that their souls continue to rest in peace. May the almighty God continue to grant them eternal rest.”

    Mohammed’s voice wavered as he said that prayer on behalf of other children whose fathers also died while fighting Boko Haram insurgents. It was clear they need help.

    Madam Patience Atekhide also lost her husband last year to the unrest in the Northeast. Her husband was in the military. Since then, she has trying hard to take care of her two female children. She hails from Edo State.

    Succour has come her way, as the military responded.

    About 150 bags of rice, 300 branded school bags, 1,000 books and 50 computers were given to all the children and widows by Support Our Troops Foundation. The late soldiers were indeed heroes who died for a good cause in line of duty.

    The event was put together to support the victims’ family especially, children of military personnel who died in the cause of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.

    The widows got bags of rice and other relief materials. Prior to this period, another beneficiary who did not want her name in print said the military had shown much love by offering them clothing materials, groundnut oil, bags of rice among others. Meanwhile, the Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) which embarks on this initiative was initiated by the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, supported by the Defence Minister, Lt-Gen. Aliyu Gusau but founded by Mrs. Funmi Ogbue to cater for the needs of these people left behind by their father.

    While the beneficiaries commended the foundation for the gesture, Ogbue emphasised the need to support the vulnerable group. She stated that it was the vision of the foundation to create a national culture of pride, patriotism and belief in the brave people who make up the nation’s Armed Forces – and to see that pride demonstrated in the practical support it offer them.

    When it was time for the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, represented by Defence Spokesperson, Chris Olukolade to give his speech, he sought the opportunity to restore hope of the deceased families. He was particular about providing every needed support to motivate the military and their family. To him, generousity of the founder was one that has backing of the entire red brass in the military. His appreciation appeared insufficient when he called other corporate organisations and individuals to support the initiative. “I will like to appreciate this expression as it is coming at a time that our children are beginning to prepare for school. There are families that are either victims or involved in curtailing the activities of terrorists. We are aware that the federal government has a package to address the situation of victims, to see this as directly supporting our troops.

    “We sincerely appreciate it and identify with it. I can only give a commitment on behalf of Chief of Defence Staff that we will continue to encourage not just the activity to support our troops but all Nigerians who will like to express their supports for our troops in a trying period such as we are going through.”

    The gathering, which had in attendance other top military officers served as an opportunity to rekindle spirit of the men and women in uniform. Badeh restated his commitment assuring the people that the ‘Nigerian military is committed to ensuring that it does not disappoint this nation in a crucial time such as this.’ “All we need from Nigerians are understanding and supports for us to achieve our constitutional mandates of ensuring the defence of the territorial integrity of Nigeria and the Nigerian citizens wherever they are found in the world.”

    A beneficiary who did not want her name in print described the gesture as ‘very nice’ and reasonably good. However, she implored the military to endeavour to assist in paying tuition fees of their children. According to her, the military has done excellent job by providing them with foods among other needs but the future of their wards, she said was much more important. “They promised us that they will pay for the school fees of our children. Like mine, it happened last year. Up until now, I am the one trying to pay the fees. I have never seen their support for the school fees.” Asked if deliberate efforts were made to contact the appropriate authority, she said, “I have been to the army headquarters more than twice but they promised to pay the fees by next year.”

    The Former Defence Minister, Obanikoro thrilled the gathering with words of motivation. He enlightened the public on immense sacrifices made by the military to ensure safety and unity of the nation. The sacrifice, he emphasised should be replicated by supporting their wives and children they left behind.

    “This gesture is to show an expression of love, appreciation and recognition for men and women in uniform, those who have paid the supreme sacrifice in the defence of our nation Nigeria. When I conceived this idea, I invited Mrs. Ogbue to come up with programmes to achieve this aim, she has not disappointed me.

    “This support for the military is something that is embedded in the innermost part of me. It comes naturally because service to humanity itself is the best service you can render anywhere in the world. But when you are now prepared to support rendering of that service with your life, then you have taken it to another level completely.”

    ”I salute those who have lost their lives to ensure that this great country remains a stable and progressive society. I want to say with more emphasis that those fallen heroes must always be celebrated. That Nigeria is stable, that we are progressive to a reasonable extent is the work that these men and women are doing in every part of the country. We Nigerians need to encourage them by giving blind support. We appreciate you and we love you.”

  • Gunmen kill three soldiers in Bayelsa

    Gunmen kill three soldiers in Bayelsa

    Gunmen have killed three soldiers belonging to the Joint Task Force (JTF), code-named: Operation Pulo Shield, and a civilian boat captain on the waterways in Bayelsa State.

    The soldiers were killed on Tuesday, two days to Christmas and barely three days after three other JTF’s soldiers were killed by suspected pirates in a similar circumstance on Santa Barbara, a notorious river in Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area.

    In the Santa Barbara incident, which occurred on Sunday, the bandits reportedly hijacked a military gunboat escorting items from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to Brass terminal, owned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

    It was gathered that before JTF’s search-and-rescue team could recover the bodies of the Brass-bound soldiers, gunmen launched a fresh attack on soldiers at Azagbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area.

    Sources said a boat conveying the soldiers on routine duties was attacked at 11.30am on Tuesday.

    A security source, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter that after killing the soldiers, the gunmen stole their rifles with 180 rounds of ammunition.

    They were said to have also killed the boat captain.

    He said: “This is a bad time for soldiers. Just three days after killing three soldiers, whose bodies have not been found, three other JTF soldiers were also killed in a similar circumstance on Tuesday.

    “The soldiers were ambushed and killed by the gunmen, who stole their rifles and ammunition. The Niger Delta region, especially the waterways in Bayelsa State, is gradually returning to the dark days of militancy. Losing six soldiers within two days is massive.”

    The source attributed the attacks to the ongoing arms stockpiling in the region ahead of the 2015 elections.

    “They are stockpiling arms for the 2015 elections or preparing to resume hostilities in case the 2015 election does not favour them.

    “That is why you see them attacking armed security operatives and stealing their weapons. You recall that in October, four police escorts working with Agip were killed with their gunboat hijacked.

    “Sometime ago, pirates tried to steal a gunboat belonging to Operation Pulo Shield, but the soldiers were active enough to repel them,” the source added.

    On the calibre of guns that were always mounted on the gunboats, the source described them as General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG).

    He insisted that with such weapons in the hands of criminals, the waterways in the state would remain unsafe.

    The source said: “The guns that are always mounted on a gunboat are the GPMGs. Sometimes, it is the type that can fire grenades. The grenade types use big bullets, almost the size of a normal battery.

    “These bad guys have a way of even getting those kinds of dangerous weapons on their own, apart from stealing them from security operatives. They buy them. It is a serious problem. The waterway is very unsafe.”

    JTF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, did not answer the calls put through to his mobile phone.

    But a senior military officer confirmed the attack.

    The officer said it involved three soldiers and a civilian boat driver.

  • Mutiny: 54 soldiers to face firing squad, five freed

    Fifty-four of the 59 soldiers standing trial for mutiny and conspiracy to commit mutiny have bagged the death sentence. They are to face the firing squad having been found guilty of the offences.

    The General Court Martial, which has been sitting since October, however, discharged and acquitted five of the soldiers.

    Delivering the judgment at the Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja Wednesday night, chairman of the GCM, Major General Musa Yusuf, said the soldiers reserved the right to appeal the verdict at a higher authority.

    The 59 soldiers were among the troops engaged in counter insurgency operations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, where the Boko Haram insurgents have taken over a number of Nigerian towns and villages in Northeastern Nigeria.

    The soldiers were accused of refusing lawful orders to fight, an offence the military authorities described as conspiracy and mutiny.

    The first batch of soldiers that were tried for mutiny also bagged the death sentence for shooting at their commanding officer. The verdict is being appealed by their lawyers.

    All the 59 soldiers had pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them by the General Court Martial during the trial.

  • Falana seeks convicted soldiers’ freedom

    Falana seeks convicted soldiers’ freedom

    Lagos lawyer,  Femi Falana (SAN), has urged the military authority to set aside the death sentence passed on 12 soldiers by a Court Martial.

    His plea was contained in a petition to the Chief of Army Staff,   Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah on behalf of the convicts, pursuant to Section 149(1) of the Armed Forces Act (Cap A20) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    Falana said the convicts were illegally charged with mutiny under Section 52(1) of the Armed Forces Act.

    He said  the prosecution during the trial failed to  prove that the convicts disobeyed a military act in connection with any operation against the enemy.

    In view of this, he submitted that the judgment of the Court Martial cannot be justified.

    He claimed it was characterised by grave errors of law, which occasioned miscarriage of justice.

    According to him, the soldiers ought not to have been convicted as charged since there was no evidence that they wanted to kill the General Officer Commanding (GOC).

    While praying the military authority to temper justice with mercy by granting the convicts full pardon, Falana stated that the 12 soldiers ought not to have been charged with attempted murder, nor convicted and sentenced to death.

    “We pray the confirming authority to temper justice with mercy by granting the convicts full pardon. Even though they were ill-equipped and ill-motivated they had fought the Boko Haram troops with courage, commitment and loyalty to their country.

    “In the process they had lost many of their colleagues including the 10 whose corpses were brought to the Mailamari Cantonment.

    In considering the extenuating circumstances we are compelled to remind the Confirming Authority that the military high command confirmed the allegations of the soldiers who took part in the protest.

  • ‘We will perform for Nigerian soldiers’

    ‘We will perform for Nigerian soldiers’

    Owing to the psychological situation Nigerian soldiers fighting insurgency are facing today in the North-eastern part of Nigeria, the newly appointed Artistic Director of National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), Mr. Akinsola Adejuwon, has promised to inculcate the habit of performing for the Nigerian soldiers as part of his new ideals to  reposition the Troupe.  He spoke to  reporters on this and more in Lagos last week.  Edozie Udeze reports.

    Part of the changes in the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, which took place recently, was the appointment of Akinsola Adejuwon as the new Artistic Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria.  The appointment which came on the heels of other changes made in three other sister parastatals is aimed essentially at infusing new life into the sector.  With his apointment, Adejuwon, a seasoned visual artist whose international exposure as a consummate and well-tested artist, prepared him well for the post has become the fifth person to lead the National Troupe since its inception in 1991.  Others before him were Hubert Ogunde, Bayo Oduneye, Ahmed Yerima and Martin Adaji.

    Addressing the press last week to unveil his programmes to move the Troupe to the next level and to continue to improve on the standards of the performances of the artistes, he said: “I will work hard to improve on the large repertoire of ideas and programmes left behind by my predecessor.  Beyond that, I could also discover that the staff are well-tested and properly equipped professionals to discharge this job.  This shows that we can together make this Troupe get to the highest level ever.”

    Adejuwon who was until his appointment a staff of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he held sway as the curator of the Institute of Cultural Studies, studied Industrial Designs at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State.  He also holds a Master degree in African Arts Studies of the OAU, and has persistently organised and run conferences, seminars and workshops, to shore up the image of both the visual and performance arts.  A lover of festivals and events, Adejuwon has been involved in the running of several festivals aimed at signposting community events for posterity, youth development and for total entertainment.  These and more are parts of the cognate experiences he hopes to bring in to refine the Troupe and make it ever alive and relevant in discharging its statutory role as the apex dance/performance outfit for the nation.

    He said: “With the quality of staff I have on ground already, it is easy, much easier for me to work to achieve results.  But we have to reposition the Troupe; we have to make the artistes be in the best mood, in the best frame of mind to work.  I must inform you that my personal contacts and working experiences with such great artists as Wole Soyinka and Demas Nwoko have over the years reshaped my foray into the art.”

    With his participation in the previous Black Heritage festivals organised by the Lagos State government where Soyinka made considerable inputs, Adejuwon is now set to lead a highbrow national troupe to train and improve the talents of more artistes to make dance more encompassing.  “Yes, the National Troupe I inherited will be taken a bit higher to attain better heights in my tenure.  I know the importance attached to this because we are considered as the cultural ambassadors of the country.”

    To him, the performing experiences of the Troupe have indeed become an enviable one.  “Both performance and visual arts, even in the renaissance Europe played such formidable role, with the kind of environment that existed at that time.  Arts today contribute substantially to the national economy and we really have to make it work better.  Arts has such reformative powers, powers that we can tap on to create more jobs for the youths, discover new artistes and make them more useful.  In my own role, I will continue to work to propel such powers which the president of the country has invested in the National Troupe as the cultural ambassadors of Nigeria.”

    He promised to ensure that all parts of the nation feel the impact of the performing nuances of the Troupe.  “Most of our local performances and programmes may have to be taken to other geopolitical zones of the country.  In fact, we also intend to perform for Nigerians troops involved in the fight against insurgency in the North.  As a national troupe, we are meant to reach out to the whole nation, states where good artiste are, we will discover them and we can co-opt them in, we will willingly do that.  But in all these, we require finances.  I am therefore prepared to involve the private sector to achieve all these goals.  We know Nigeria is blessed.  Even now our art is among the best in the world.  By this, I mean all aspects of the art.  Therefore, we need to look at the available infrastructure which we have to improve upon to achieve our desires.”

    Even when the National Troupe has already cultivated its own customers and collaborators over the years, Adejuwon still hopes to go the extra mile to cultivate more partners in the society.  “The whole idea,” he said, “is to ensure that our troupe is organised in such a way as to achieve all that the federal government represents.  We need to add value; indeed, we have to help government achieve the kind of image needed to make Nigeria better.  Right now, we have a great number of artistes we have to take care of.  I have been talking to them to know their state of mind, their needs and based on that we will know what to do to make them work better.”

    Since for now, the Artistic Director does not have to depend entirely on the funds from the federal government, he therefore has a lot of task ahead of him to source for bigtime financiers for most of his programmes.  Government fortunes are dwindling by the day because of the conflicts that we have.  So, we will be very proactive in terms of raising funds to run the place.  This, I hope to do with my able team and cooperation of other well-meaning Nigerians.  We will be aggressive in our drive to generate funds and then produce quality shows for our people.”

  • ‘We should stop killing our wounded soldiers’

    ‘We should stop killing our wounded soldiers’

    The general overseer of Agape Christian Ministries, Akure, Bishop Felix Adejumo, is a leader of leaders. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on life at 60 and sundry issues affecting the body of Christ. 

    You were 60 in August. How is life at 60?

    I think I am just trying to assimilate the reality of being 60. I have never been there before but now that I find myself there, it is a different ball game altogether. I’m beginning to redefine life and see it differently from how I used to before.

    The reality that one does not have too much time anymore is sinking in now. My approach is to think differently from what I used to. I think this age bracket is teaching me a lot of lessons…

    …Which are?

    One, you don’t have all the time anymore. You must value your time and take advantage of the opportunities of life. Two, you must value the people around you because people are assets and they could also be liabilities. Three, you must be patient with yourself and people around. Four, you cannot win the world or even own the whole world.

    Whatever God gives to you, be content with it and appreciate Him for it. You must leave a legacy, an imprint in the life of people because life is not just about yourself. So, I have learnt all of these and I have just living to impact people than I have done in the past. Those are the things I will be working on henceforth.

    But you must also be thinking about succession at your age. I know many don’t like to talk about it…?

    Well, you know it is a reality of life. I remember the first time I told my children that when we die we should be buried in a certain place. I said ‘bury me here and my wife close by’ but my last daughter said ‘daddy, don’t mention it’ but I insisted it is a reality of life. It’s like a 40 year-old refusing to write his will. He has to do that because it is mere deception to think you will always be around. God owns our breath.

    So, the issue of succession is something that I have been praying about. There is a succession plan in place. I have a programme for myself and I told myself I have maybe ten more years to work actively. From 70, I will relax and take easier responsibilities that will not put pressure on my health. I am sound and healthy but I must not put too much pressure on myself. I have a retirement plan that I’m sticking to.

    How much of mentoring are you into these days?

    That is my major project now. It is what will take the latter years of my life. In the next ten years, I will be at some locations where I can be more accessible and raise the next generation. I want to share with them life experiences, principles and revelations from the word. I’d want to impart them with practical experiences of my life so that they can see both sides of the divides.

    I am already thinking about that and it will cut across denominations. I have a lot of mentees and others are joining. I want to open up my life to them for impartation and learning.

    How does it make you feel when one of your mentees is derailing and seems not to be yielding?

    It is very painful sometimes especially if it is somebody you love so much.  You have invested and such a mentee is derailing but there is nothing you can do. There is nothing you can do but to pray. You can’t but have such issues and that is why you have to open such a person up to the pitfalls in life. But if he falls into them again, you don’t throw away the baby with the bath water. You don’t run away, abdicate your responsibility as a father but hang on there to rescue that person.

    Sometimes, don’t you feel that some of them would have dragged your name in the mud in the process since everyone knows you are associated with them?

    Honestly speaking, it is God that builds a name. If you  have a baby that pees, you clean him up and not run away. You won’t say you don’t want the child to stain you and then walk away. If anybody says you are stained, well that is their opinion. You have your life to live. I have had  a lot of such things. People will say ‘he is their father’, ‘like father, like son’. But I don’t mind. It is between me and God.

    That one of my mentees misbehaves does not mean I do or have to do. My shoulders are down for them to rise and I never walk out on them. I don’t want to abandon people when it’s tough times. I want to be there for them because it can happen to anybody. The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong. Nobody is above any mistake or error. If anybody falters, we have to rally round. That is what happens in the army. If a soldier is wounded, they carry, nurture and nurse the wounded soldiers to life.

    But it is never like that in the faith, is it?

    It is not but it should be like that. That is what the scripture wants us to do. We kill our wounded soldiers when we should have helped to rescue and nurse them back to life. Some people even gloat over such developments. They say they have had revelations the person will fall. I think it is demonic because it is not of God. God is forgiving and who are we not to forgive?

    So, we have to be there and protect our wounded soldiers. We have to help them back to fitness. In the parable of the Samaritans, the Levite and Priest saw the wounded man and left but the Samaritan rescued him. The Levite and Priest represent the church while the Samaritan represents those in the workplace. We are the ones killing ourselves not the people outside the church.

    It is lack of love. We only read the Bible many times but never demonstrate it. We should look through the attributes of love as defined in I Corinthians 13 and we would see how far we have derailed.

    How do you feel when a man of God is misbehaving and is not accessible for mentoring?  

    Well, we are just instruments in the hands of God. In a situation where a pastor is messing up and is not available, well it is a choice he has made. It is a privilege to bear one another’s burden. When we don’t have access to them, we only pray.

    How is the Lekki church coming up?

    It is coming up strong and we are in the process of getting a permanent centre.

    Why Lekki, which is already saturated with churches, of all places?

    There is no place that is not saturated but you see God will direct your flock to you. They will locate you anywhere you are. Your people will come and identify with you.

    Many people feel you are just hiding in Akure. A preacher like you should be in Lagos, Abuja or any of the other big cities. How do you react to that?

    There is nothing like be in God’s place for one’s life. I believe it is the will of God for our Headquarters to be in Ondo State. That is my place of primary assignment. Our branches are just extensions of what we did in Akure. I once tried coming to Lagos, somewhere in Surulere. I was in devotion one morning when God told me He didn’t say I should relocate to Lagos though I could have a work in Lagos.

    He said I should not leave my place of protection, my place of rewards and my place of prosperity. That was why I stayed put. So Akure will be my base except God says otherwise. Akure is my Jerusalem.

    Your marriage clocked 30 also. How has it been?

    It’s been fantastic and challenging in the sense that there is no marriage without challenges. But grace has helped us to manage those challenges. My wife and I are close friends. We are lovers. That has kept us all these years. God has helped us to raise our children well.

  • Court martial: Three soldiers appeal death sentence

    Court martial: Three soldiers appeal death sentence

    Three of the 12 soldiers sentenced to death on September 15 by a court martial have challenged the rulling at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

    The men, Igomu Emmanuel, Stephen Clement and Andrew Ngbede  faulted the trial leading to their conviction and urged the court to quash the decision.

    They raised 11 grounds of appeal in their case filed for them last Thursday by their lawyer, Godwin Obla (SAN).

    The appellants said the charge on which they were tried and convicted “is vague, disjointed, imprecise and incoherent”, adding that they did not understand  it.

    They argued that not only were their names not stated on the charge, it also violated Section 36 (6) of the constitution, which entitled an accused to be informed of the details and nature of the offence for which he was charged.

    The appellants further argued that the General Court Martial erred in law and came to a perverse decision by convicting them in respect of the offence of conspiracy and failed to consider the defence of  alibi, which they raised, but which was not investigated by the court martial.

    “The General Court Martial erred in law and thus occasioned a miscarriage of justice when it disregarded the objection of the defence counsel raised before and at the arraignment of the appellants on the defective nature of the charge brought against them.”

    The soldiers said they were charged and convicted at large under Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act and that the charge did not tie the offence they allegedly committed to any of the subsections of Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act.

    They said Section 114 did not define the offence of criminal conspiracy as an offence known to law.

    The appellants argued that the first count of the charge “is ambiguous, uncertain and defective”, because they were charged under Section 114 of the Armed Forces Act, but punished under Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Law.

    They also faulted the third count of the charge for being “uncertain and defective” because they were charged under Section 95 of the Armed Forces Act, which provided a punishment of life imprisonment if convicted, but were sentenced to death under Section 106 of the Act.

    The appellants said the General Court Martial based its decision on an equivocal, indirect, negative, uncorroborated and suspicious circumstantial evidence in convicting them.

    They said the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Maj.-Gen. Ahmadu Mohammed, whom they were accused of attempting to murder, was not invited by the prosecution to give evidence on the alleged attempt on his life.

    The appellants also noted that no ballistic evidence was produced to show that it was their shot that hit Maj.-Gen. Mohammed’s car.

    They contended that none of the witnesses identified any of them as the person who shot at the GOC’s vehicle, and that the court martial merely relied on circumstantial evidence, which did not lead conclusively and indisputably that any of their shots was the one, if any, that hit the rear right door of the command’s Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal.

     

  • Mutiny: 12 Soldiers only spoke truth to power

    Mutiny: 12 Soldiers only spoke truth to power

    SIR: This is certainly not the best of times for the Nigerian military. It has continued to remain in the news for the very wrong and bizarre reasons. It is either the “late”? Abubakar ‘lunatic’ Shekau-led Boko Haram group is forcing its officers to consider a ‘tactical manouvre’ into Cameroun borders or officers within the force are engaging each other in needless internal bickering. As things presently are, our entire military set up appears to have lost the verve and patriotic bent to meaningfully prosecute the insurgency.

    The military is presently enmeshed in another round of fresh controversy. Just last week, the media reported the shocking verdict of a court martial that tried 18 military officers for allegedly attacking Major General Ahmed Mohammed, the General Officer Commanding of the 7th Division, Maiduguri over the mindless killing of their colleagues by insurgents. Delivering the judgment, leader of the court martial, Brigadier General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, sentenced 12 of the 18 officers to death by firing squad. Expectedly, the verdict elicited loads of reactions, with many queuing behind the ‘condemned’ military officers.

    These men truly don’t deserve to die. Their action only drew global attention to the chronic stench, endemic rot, mega fraud and cesspool of corruption that the Nigerian military has become. Their action exposed a military where its top brass feed fat on its budget, sell arms and ammunitions to insurgents and arms its junior officers with dane guns to confront heavily armed insurgents.

    Frankly speaking, those presiding over the affairs of the entire military make-up in Nigeria are the very problem bedeviling the institution. These same elements are chiefly responsible for why the war on terror isn’t recording spectacular success as expected. The surest way to meaningfully take this war against terror to the bedroom of Abubakar Shekau (we learnt he’s dead?) and his fellow lunatics is to wield the big stick on the military’s top brass. Certainly, some of them should be shown the next available exit route. The nation cannot continue to shoulder the enormous wage bill of trained military officers who cannot live up to the task of stoutly defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

    Before either the President or the head of the military signs the death warrant of these soldiers, Nigerians and indeed the world request that the army’s top echelon should first and foremost subject itself to public scrutiny. Those who wish to go to equity must keep their hands clean. The military’s top brass should tell us in unambiguous terms how they have been expending the huge yearly budget approved for the entire military. We expect them to give detailed account of how they have spent or managed the money. It is only after then that they can go ahead to approve the firing of these men accused of committing insurrection.

    I keep saying this. The alleged attack on Major General Ahmed Mohammed wasn’t a premeditated one. The said soldiers were only helpless and frustrated. They felt the system deliberately ordered them to the war front without first and foremost providing them with all they needed to prosecute the war.

    This is one case that most Nigerians won’t want to see it go the way of others. These guys weren’t conscripted into the Nigerian Army. They willingly applied to serve their fatherland, with the hopes that our country will be better for it at the end. Unfortunately, instead of getting medals, cash rewards or national honour for service to fatherland, the same country has concluded plans to end their lives rather prematurely by facing the firing squad should their appeal fails to scale through.

    You cannot beat a child and expect him not to cry. We sent them to the war front with dane guns and expect them to crush Boko Haram in one fell swoop. These 12 military men only spoke truth to power and nothing more.

    • Abdullahi Yunusa

    Imane, Kogi State