Mutiny: You Cannot Kill 54 Soldiers For Refusing To Commit Suicide – Falana

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Lead counsel to the 54 soldiers sentenced to death over mutiny, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has said he would use every legal machinery at his disposal to ensure the soldiers are not killed, as it would amount to genocide.

In a statement insisted by the human rights lawyer, he said that the action of the soldiers were clear; they disobeyed the orders of the Commanding Officer of the Special Forces Battalion, Lt. Colonel Opurum as as a result of non-availability of arms and ammunition to prosecute the instruction of the Commander.

“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.

“The oath of allegiance taken by the accused soldiers is not a license to commit suicide. It is a solemn undertaking to defend the nation based on the expectation that the Federal Government would have complied with Section 217 of the Constitution on the mandatory requirement to equip the armed forces adequately,” said Falana.

He recalled that some of the soldiers sentenced to death were part of the same men who on 18 August 2014, went to the field and fought gallantly when there was equipment to prosecute their mission.

A General Court Martial headed by Brigadier General Mohammed Yusuf had on Wednesday sentenced 54 soldiers to death after being found guilty of mutiny and conspiracy to mutiny among the 59 soldiers arraigned.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Its very obvious that nigerian army are short of weapon to effectively fought well.where is all the defence budget.this goverment has failed.let them leaves us with hunger and unemployment but allow us to sleep well.ahhh I done tire woooo…!

  2. You may be a Chief Advocate for all I care, your argument is very absurd and devoid of logic. My friend go and read the Law of War. All you people do is to make so much media hot air. Those soldiers were properly tried and convicted. Full stop.

  3. @pato, you’re an idiot of the highest order, what the hell you said they should sentence those soldiers for Not commimiting suicide, in fact you’re a disgrace to your family I guess you’re a mistake to your family.

  4. It’s inhuman to deliberately send fellow human being on suicide mission. Is there any of the generals that can go to war without being well equiped? It’s unfair to kill soldiers for protesting on lack of facilities and equipment. It’s an indictment on FGN. Moreover FGN accepted that the military lack facilities and equipment for war.
    The issue on ground deserves pardon and investigation into the inadequacy. FGN should step into this. Killing these soldiers is no solution to our porous security, rather it may influence and promote lack of loyalty and patriotism on the part of the military boys.

  5. What is the military tryin to tell us nigerians by sentencing these soldiers to death?Is the military tryin to show strictness at the expense of these helpless soldiers?The military should think of how to fight the increasing number of boko haram and keep nigeria safe than reducing the number of soldiers they ve got due to their inability to provide equipments for them to fight!it is the duty of the military to provide equipments for soldiers and not the soldiers providing for themselves.Even God wil not be happy if these soldiers are killed!I see it as an act of genocide.

  6. Boko Haram recruits have been killing Nigerians, now the military generals have sentenced 54 Nigerian soldiers to death on the ground of mutiny! What a paradox! The military need to know that if those 54 soldiers were killed, they are by implication helping Boko Haram in their determination to reduce the population of Nigeria by any means conceivable! They would have given Boko Haram reason to celebrate! Besides, they would have given true Nigerians and the international community reasons to question the military set up in Nigeria. Those 54 soldiers need to be freed!

  7. Most of you guys responded the way you did because you are civilians. In Military parlace, Officers and men are trained to take orders without complaining. If the affected soldiers were effectively and adequately tried, nothing will stop the Army from executing them. They may even carry out the execution before the world will hear of it. The only person that can intervene on their behalf now is the C-in-C and God’s own intervention too will save them otherwise they are dead.

  8. according to the Nigeria Rule of War, those chaps have totally committed a crime against their country. Weather they are well equipped or not, the agreement they signed before entering the military is to protect their beloved country even at the expense of their own lives.

  9. They should be thinking about wiping out Boko Haram and not wasting the lives of these soldiers. It’s not easy for anyone to lay down his/her life for the betterment of any people. It shouldn’t be a curse to serve.

  10. Court marshall is not bloody civilian court where lawyers swagger and dramatize. Leave the army to sort out their issues. Your APC friend Buhari killed many innocent civillians by retroactive laws drafted by lawyers like you, what did you do. It is now you are shouting about human rights.