Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Mutiny: 12 Nigerian soldiers sentenced to death for shooting GOC

Soldiers standing trial for mutiny

A military court-martial has sentenced 12 Nigerian soldiers to death after they were found guilty of committing mutiny in Maiduguri, Borno State in May.

It would be recalled that on the 14th of May 2014, a group of soldiers fired shots at Maj-Gen Ahmadu Mohammed, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 7th Division, at Maiduguri's Maimalari Barracks.

The soldiers became angry when they saw the bodies of 12 of their colleagues being brought back from Chibok, where they were killed by Boko Haram militants who ambushed a convoy of soldiers returning from anti-terrorism duties.

The mutineers shot several times into the air and called senior officers "cowards", accusing them of deliberately putting them in harm's way.

The following day, the GOC of the barracks was removed.

However, the court martial, which was led by Brigadier-General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, sitting at Mogadishu Cantonment in Abuja from Monday night to Tuesday morning sentenced 12 of the 18 soldiers to death by firing squad, five were discharged and acquitted while the remaining one was jailed for 28 days with hard labour.

Those who were sentenced to death are Jasper Braidolor, David Musa, Friday Onuh, Yusuf Shuaibu, Igonmu Emmanuel, Andrew Ugbede, Nurudeen Ahmed, Ifeanyi Alukagba, Alao Samuel, Amadi Chukwuma, Alan Linus, and Stephen Clement.

They were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder (shooting of the vehicle of the GOC); insubordination to a particular order; insubordination and false accusation.

Those discharged are David Robert, Mohammed Sani, Iseh Ubong, Sebastine Gwaba and Naaman Samuel. While Jeremiah Echocho was sentenced to 28 days with hard labour.

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