A military court-martial sitting in Abuja early hours of Tuesday sentenced 12 Nigerian soldiers to death by firing squad after they were found guilty of mutiny, disobedience and attempted murder in Maiduguri, Borno State last May.
The court also sentenced a soldier to one-month jail term with hard labor while freeing five others.
It would be recalled that on 14th May 2014, a group of soldiers fired shots at Maj-Gen Ahmadu Mohammed, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, at Maimalari Barracks, Maiduguri.
The soldiers threw caution to the winds and fired shots at the official car of the GOC when they saw the bodies of 12 of their colleagues being brought back from a counter-insurgency operation, where they were killed by Boko Haram gunmen, who ambushed their convoy.
Gen. Mohammed escaped unhurt as his vehicle was armored but he was quickly removed the following day.
The soldiers condemned to die are Cpl. Jasper Braidolor, Cpl. David Musa, Lance Cpl. Friday Onun, Lance Cpl. Yusuf Shuaibu, Lance Cpl. Igomu Emmanuel and Pte. Andrew Ngbede.
The others are Pte. Nurudeen Ahmed, Pte. Ifeanyi Alukhagbe, Pte. Alao Samuel, Pte. Amadi Chukwudi, Pte. Allan Linus and Lance Cpl. Stephen Clement.
The President of the Court, Brig.-Gen. C.C. Okonkwo, while announcing the sentences, however, said that the decisions were subject to “confirmation”.
Cpl. David Luhbut, Cpl. Muhammed Sani, Pte. Iseh Ubong, Pte. Sabastine Gwaba and Pte. Inama Samuel were set free by the court.
The 18th soldier, Pte Ichocho Jeremiah, was found guilty of going AWOL (absent without leave) and was sentenced to 28 days in prison with hard labour.
Soldier is no longer what we use to know them to be, There is no more discipline, respect in our forces nowadays.they ‘ve carried their stubbornness and arrogant life borrowed from the public into the Barracks which was not so before the Nigeria civil war.We use to know Soldiers are the discipline & trustworthy people.I not happy over their death sentences but that others ‘ll heed to obey orders from their seniors.And get it right from others mistakes.
why sentencing them to death? How do u expect them to be happy on sighting d dead bodies of their colleague that was betrayed by so called boko haram sympathizers” lawyers and judges has been bought over against d poor soldiers. d lawyer dat presided over dis judgment should be sentenced to death. Danbanza kowei
The truth is that the soldiers thought the G.O.C. Plot the ambush that is why they fired at him. They should be free now that Nigeria need soldiers to fight boko haram. Pres. GEJ should give them pardon not to reduce our military might.
This is bull shit judgement. The ersthwhile GOC should be the one on death row not these innocent soldiers. He endangered them and as such is guilty of treason. What about all the soldiers affiliated to boko haram.? no death sentence placed on them.! Most of them are christians soldiers targeted- isn’t this strange? What have they done to all those muslim soldiers that have been betraying their loyalty to the Federal Republic of Nigeria? This is not RIGHT!
Discipline, yes. But was d issue dat led2 dis soldiers shooting at the GOC resolved?
A kingdom against itself can never stand and a house a which its roof is licking can never give peace to the occupant. You think pulling the aching teeth the solution. It will leave a nasty hole in your mouth and your face will never be the same. And your hand will always be in your mouth to remove the food particle. It can never be the same. God is watching you oo. You have not done what they did but sin is sin in the eyes of God. He is not asleep. There is God ooo. Please don’t forget that.