Mutiny: Military fires GOC attacked by convicted soldiers

by Akan Ido

Major General Ahmed Mohammed, the former General Officer Commanding the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri has been retired.

Mohammed was at the receiving end of the mutiny which took place months ago at the Maimalari Barracks in Borno following a violent protest by soldiers. The military men were said to have complained about non-payments of entitlements and inadequate weapons to effectively combat the Boko Haram menace.

The retired GOC’s vehicle was reportedly shot at during the mutiny but he was lucky to escape unscathed.

Reports, however, indicate that Mohammed was immediately recalled to the military headquarters in Abuja to await posting but was eventually retired about a month ago.

Sources say, “The Maj. Gen. has been retired; you don’t expect that to be made public; issues of retirement especially in the military are confidential. The man was at the Army headquarters for some time. He was awaiting posting then but he was eventually retired about a month ago.”

Meanwhile, the NLC, TUC and human rights lawyers have urged the Presidency and the Army Council chaired by the Minister of Defence to prevail on the military authorities to spare the lives of the 12 soldiers who were recently sentenced to die by firing squared for taking part in the mutiny.

Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana has, however, argued that the offence committed by the affected soldiers does not attract the death penalty.

“The soldiers were charged with attempted murder which does not attract death penalty. In the circumstance, the 12 convicts should have been charged under Section 52(2) of the Armed Forces Act which provides for life imprisonment,” he said.

The human rights lawyer called on the Army Council not to confirm the verdict but to commute it to imprisonment.

Falana continued saying, “Before the incident, the soldiers at the Maimalari Cantonment had complained of insufficient ammunition, food and allowances. The visit of the GOC was said to have coincided with the arrival of the corpses of soldiers killed in an ambush in Chibok, Borno State on the night of May 13, 2014.

“It was the tragic situation which reportedly infuriated the soldiers. Having investigated and confirmed the circumstances which led to the mutiny in question, the military authorities removed the GOC.

“In the light of the foregoing, I urge the Army Council not to confirm the death sentences passed on the 12 soldiers but commute same to imprisonment in the interest of Justice. The facts and circumstance of the mutinous act of the convicted soldiers should be taken into consideration.

“However, if the death sentence of the Maiduguri 12 is confirmed by the Army Council, the convicted soldiers are advised to take the case to the Court of Appeal which is likely to follow its decision in the case of Yussuf & 21 Ors v Nigerian Army (2003) 36 WRN 68 wherein the sentence of life imprisonment passed on the appellants who had rioted at the Cairo Airport in Egypt was quashed.”

A military source, however, spoke to YNaija saying acts of insubordination by military personnel must be punished to deter others from taking that route.

According to the source, “Soldiers cannot just go around shooting their GOCs. Is that the kind of Nigerian Army you want? If such things happen Nigerians should be afraid for their existence because it means even they are not safe.”

The final decision on the fate of the convicted officers are still being awaited.

Comments (2)

  1. I will say i was not surprised when i heard the judgement passed on those soldiers that had fought through the “hard days” of this nation. The GOC took their loyalty for foolishness but we can’t ignore the fact that the soldiers over reacted but nevertheless,their blood should not be shed…………#NoMoreLossOfSoldiers

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