48 soldiers, who were sentenced to death on
Wednesday by the General Court-Martial following their conviction on a
two-count charge of conspiracy to mutiny and mutiny, have described their
sentence as gross miscarriage of justice which cannot stand.Soldiers tasked
with fighting Boko Haram militants arrive to face trials for mutiny in Abuja on
October 2, 2014.Fifty nine soldiers were put on trial by the court-martial,
while five of them were discharged and acquitted.The condemned soldiers, in a
statement they issued through their counsel, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) argued that
sending them to go and confront heavily armed Boko Haram terrorists without
providing them with adequate weapons was asking them to go and commit
suicide.They said their refusal to obey orders of the Commanding Officer of the
Special Forces Battalion, Lt. Colonel Opurum, was as a result of non
availability of arms and ammunition to prosecute the instruction of the
commander.According to Falana’s statement, “Yesterday (Wednesday), the General
Court-Martial sitting in Abuja which tried another batch of 59 soldiers for
conspiracy to mutiny and mutiny convicted 54 of the accused persons and
sentenced them to death while five were discharged and acquitted.“The acquittal
was designed to give the false impression that the dubious verdict was fair and
just. The soldiers were in the Special Forces 111 Battalion which has 174
instead of 750 soldiers. The soldiers in the Battalion were neither equipped
nor motivated. They are young men whose ages range between 21 and 25. Most of
them joined the army in 2012.“With little or no training whatsoever they were
deployed to fight the dreaded Boko Haram sect. The funds allocated for payment
of the salaries and allowances of the soldiers and for purchase of arms and
ammunition are usually diverted and cornered by corrupt military
officers.“Instead of bringing such unpatriotic officers to book, the military
authorities have engaged in the diversionary tactics of wasting the lives of innocent
soldiers by sentencing them to death without any legal justification.“On July
9, 2014, the Boko Haram sect launched a ferocious attack on the battalion. As
the soldiers were ill-equipped and ill-motivated the well armed terrorists
killed three officers and 23 soldiers and inflicted serious injuries on 82
others.“While sympathizing with the bereaved soldiers, the army authorities
assured them that adequate weapons would be provided to match the sophisticated
weapons of the Boko Haram sect.“But without the provision of the said weapons
the soldiers were ordered on August 4, 2014 to recapture Delwa, Balubulin and
Damboa in Borno State from the Boko Haram terrorists.“The soldiers demanded for
weapons so as not to lose more officers and men in the circumstance. A few
soldiers who embarked on the suicidal mission together with the Commanding
Officer were ambushed by the Boko Haram troops.“When some weapons were made
available on August 8, 2014, the soldiers moved to the battlefront, dislodged
the satanic Boko Haram sect and liberated their captured colleagues and
officers. They were commended for their bravery and sacrifice. But for some
inexplicable reasons, the army authorities ordered that the soldiers be charged
with mutiny for allegedly exposing the armed forces to embarrassment by asking
for weapons.“In the judgment delivered yesterday, the court-martial refused to
consider the evidence led in court and convicted 54 of the soldiers for having
the temerity to ask for weapons to carry out the task of defending the
territorial integrity of the nation.“Since the soldiers were justified in
refusing to commit suicide, the verdict which is characterised by gross
miscarriage of justice will not stand. Apart from the fact that the prosecution
did not lead any scintilla of evidence to prove the two-count charge of
conspiracy and mutiny against any of the convicts the court-martial did not
consider the defence of the soldiers in any material particular.“Convinced that
soldiers who made a legitimate demand for equipment to fight the insurgents
cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be properly convicted for mutiny, we
shall take all necessary legal measures to prevent the army authorities from
giving effect to the genocidal verdict of the court-martial.
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