Mutiny: Falana Cautions Military Authorities

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana has called on  the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Kenneth Minimah, to set aside the death sentence passed on 12 soldiers by its General Court Martial. Thisday reports.

The soldiers during their trial in Abuja (Photo credit: AP)

In a petition to Minimah, dated December 5, Falana argued that the judgment of the court martial cannot be justified as it was characterised by grave errors of law which occasioned miscarriage of justice.


He said the convicts were illegally charged with mutiny under Section 52(1) of the Armed Forces Act as the prosecution did not prove that the convicts disobeyed a military act in connection with any operation against the enemy.
He contended that according to the petition filed on behalf of the convicts pursuant to Section 149(1) of the Armed Forces Act (Cap A20) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the soldiers should not have been convicted as there was no evidence that they wanted to kill the General Officer commanding (GOC).

He advocated that the convicts be granted full pardon, saying they ought not to have been charged with attempted murder, convicted and sentenced to death.

He wrote: “We pray the confirming authorities 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.

“Apart from removing the GOC and retiring him from the Nigerian Army, the authorities have adopted some measures to address the complaints of the soldiers involved in combat operations in the north-east region,” he stated.

Premium Times gives the name of the convicted soldiers as Corporal Jasper Braidolor; Corporal David Musa; Lance Corporal Friday Onun; Lance Corporal Yusuf  Shuaibu; Lance Corporal Igomu Emmanuel; Private Andrew Ngbede; Private Nurudeen Ahmed; Private Ifeanyi Alukhagba; Private Alao Samuel;Private Amadi Chukwudi; Private Alan Linus; and Lance Corporal Stephen Clement.

Falana argued that the soldiers’ protest was not connected with ‘operations against the enemy,’ as spelt out in the Armed Forces Act. He said they protesting against the negligence of the Federal Government and the military Authorities to motivate and equip them.