Nigerian Soldiers: Wages Of Mutiny

Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja Nigerian Army sentences 12 of its men to death over mutiny in a move believed to be aimed at enforcing discipline among the troops. But analysts insist that the root causes of the revolt of the condemned men must be properly addressed for Nigeria to win the war against terror Even as the Nigerian armed forces continue the struggle to contain the Boko Haram insurgency, the sentencing of 12 soldiers to death for mutiny by a military court martial in the early hours of last Tuesday is epochal in the battle to defeat the terrorists. Aside the issue of the constitutionality or otherwise of the death sentence being raised by lawyers, there is the question of the effect the judgment would have on colleagues of the condemned soldiers currently occupied with the arduous task of halting attempts by the terrorists to create a caliphate out of Nigeria. This is even more so when it is considered that at the root of the alleged mutiny for which the 12 soldiers have been condemned to face the firing squad were the still unending complaints of poor equipment, poor welfare and corruption blamed for the prolonged inability to defeat Boko Haram. [caption id="attachment_10540" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •The condemned soldiers[/caption] The soldiers, serving in the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Borno State, specially created to battle the Boko Haram insurgents, had run into problems on 14 May when they fired shots at the convoy conveying their General Officer Commanding, Major General Ahmed Mohammmed, as it tried to enter their cantonment. Though the GOC escaped unhurt due to the ability of his driver to dexterously steer his vehicle away from the angry soldiers, some of his bodyguards were not lucky and suffered gunshot wounds. The immediate reason for the anger of the soldiers, reports had indicated, was the death of scores of their colleagues in an ambush the previous night. Indeed, it was learnt that the arrival of the GOC to the barrack coincided with the arrival of the corpses of the soldiers killed in the ambush. The soldiers were allegedly angry because they thought they could have avoided the Boko Haram ambush and consequently, the deaths of their colleagues, if the GOC had not asked the troops to return overnight from their area of operation. The troops also suspected that the directive to return overnight followed a pattern in which they were being deliberately led to die through wrong tactical orders dished out by officers who they believed are not committed to the war against terror for some sentimental reasons. [caption id="attachment_10538" align="alignright" width="180"] •Falana: Army Council to look into reasons for the mutiny[/caption]But, it was gathered, even before the ambush, soldiers at the division had been complaining about welfare issues such as delayed payment of allowances, poor equipment and insufficient ammunition before the visit of the GOC. The morale of the soldiers who were at the forefront of the fight against insurgents was especially at the lowest ebb at the time of the incident because of continuous loss of their colleagues during confrontation with the insurgents as a result of inadequate ammunition and poor equipment. The soldiers of the division were also said to be angry at their leaders because there had not been troop rotation since their deployment to the North- East to fight Boko Haram. Though the media had appropriately tagged the behaviour of the soldiers a mutiny when the event occurred, Major General Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, had denied there was any form of mutiny in the division. But the trial of the soldiers confirmed that the military indeed viewed the action of the soldiers as mutiny. A total of 18 soldiers were arraigned on charges of criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder (shooting of the vehicle of the GOC), insubordination to a particular order, insubordination and false accusation before the court martial presided over by Maj. Gen. C.C. Okonkwo last Monday evening. But 12 soldiers were found guilty of three of the most heinous charges and were therefore sentenced to death by firing squad. The legal team of the convicts pleaded with the court martial to temper justice with mercy. While arguing that handing out the maximum sentence to the men would bring great hardship on their dependants, the lawyer pointed out that one of the convicted soldiers is the only son of his octogenarian widowed mother while another is the father of a five-month-old baby. In sentencing the men to death, the court martial had refused to be swayed by the pathetic stories of the family backgrounds of the convicted servicemen as put forward by their lawyer in his attempt to mitigate the sentence on them. The military also confirmed last week that it had already sent the GOC involved in the incident on retirement. [caption id="attachment_10539" align="aligncenter" width="300"] •Olukolade: Denied the mutiny initially[/caption] Different stakeholders and interest groups have been pleading for the reversal of the sentence on the soldiers since it was announced. The Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and human rights lawyers pleaded for the pardon of the 12 soldiers. NLC appealed for clemency for the condemned men, especially since the sentence has not been approved by the Army Council, while the TUC argued that since the soldiers were protesting against internal sabotage of the operations against Boko Haram, their action should not be tagged mutinous. “We would also want to remind the Federal Government and the military leadership that in as much as the congress will not encourage revolt or disobedience to military authority, we will also not fail to reject and condemn the death sentence passed by the court martial on 12 soldiers protesting against the internal sabotage of the military in the ongoing war against the Boko Haram sect in the north-eastern part of the country,” said TUC. Beyond the plea for clemency, lawyers are divided on the legal options available for the condemned servicemen to avoid facing the marksmen. Sebastian Hon, a senior advocate, argued that mutiny, the charge against the condemned men, is a crime viewed as very grave in the military globally because it can lead to chaos, breakdown of law and order and even overthrow of government. While he recognised that soldiers fighting Boko Haram had continued to complain about lack of appropriate equipment, they should not have taken the laws into their hands by attempting to shoot their commander. Nevertheless, the senior lawyer advised President Jonathan to exercise his prerogative of mercy under section 175 of the constitution to pardon the soldiers with a strong warning that any such action in the future would be met with appropriate punishment. He added that granting pardon to the men was necessary to ensure that the morale of their colleagues fighting the insurgents was not dampened. Lawyer and human rights activist, Olisa Agbakoba, outrightly condemned the death sentence passed on the soldiers, insisting that the process through which the court martial passed the sentences on the soldiers was unconstitutional. Agbakoba, who said he had already asked lawyers from his chambers to approach the condemned soldiers over possibility of appealing the death sentence at the Court of Appeal, also argued that the offence for which the servicemen were tried and found guilty was undefined, contrary to Section 38(12) of the 1999 Constitution. He also argued that the process which allowed the military to initiate the process of trial of men it accused of committing one infringement or the other was against the principle of natural justice. Agbakoba, who revealed that he had in the past represented a number of soldiers being tried at court martial, said he has always argued that a process that allows the commander to appoint the investigator, the court martial president, and members and the judge advocate, is contrary to all principles of natural justice. “The basis of justice is that everybody who has the power to decide has a duty to act fairly. Without prejudice to the offence, whether the person is guilty or not, he is entitled to a fair trial. The Army Act that defines the work for the court martial system is unconstitutional because the basic offence contained in the Army Act is that you are charged for an offence said to be prejudicial to service discipline,” said Agbakoba. “That is what the law says–conduct prejudicial to service discipline. But conduct prejudicial to service discipline is an undefined offence contrary to Section 38(12) of the Constitution and the court has said that offences must be defined,” he added. While acknowledging the seriousness of the offences levied against the soldiers, human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, argued that the servicemen deserved to be pardoned because of the circumstances of their action. The Lagos-based lawyer also said it was wrong to charge the soldiers under Section 52(1) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A 20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 as they did not kill their GOC, though they shot at his car. This, according to him, amounted to attempted murder which does not attract death penalty. He therefore argued that the the 12 convicts should have been charged under Section 52(2) of the Armed Forces Act, which provides for life imprisonment. Falana also noted that before the shooting incident, soldiers at the Maimalari Cantonment had complained of insufficient ammunition, food and allowances, a fact which he wanted the Army Council to take into consideration in commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment. The legal practitioner however argued that if the death sentence of the Maiduguri 12 is confirmed by the Army Council, the convicted soldiers have the option of taking their case to the Court of Appeal. Falana argued that the appellate court 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. Speaking in the same vein, Fred Agbaje said the soldiers were not barred from appealing the death sentence on them by the Armed Forces Decree. Agbaje also argued that the soldiers could go to the Court of Appeal, where the judgment of the court martial would be subjected to judicial scrutiny and review as there was nothing in the Armed Forces Decree that can override the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution, particularly sections 6 and 36, dealing with judicial powers and fair hearing. This magazine however gathered that the death sentence on the soldiers is meant to send a strong message and arrest what is regarded as the burgeoning indiscipline and cowardice among the troops. A senior military officer told this magazine last week that the service was concerned about the increasing unwillingness of the troops to fight during confrontation with Boko Haram insurgents. The officer said the refusal of soldiers to fight and even abandoning their weapons as they run away when confronted by the insurgents is now the major problem confronting the military in the war against terror. According to him, the recent shooting of Lt. Col. Adeboye Obasanjo, the son of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, and some other officers happened when their troops deserted them and ran away during a fire fight with Boko Haram militants. This magazine also gathered that the leadership of the Army was greatly embarrassed when wives of the men of the 7th Division about a month ago frustrated a planned expedition to liberate Gwoza from the Boko Haram insurgents who had taken over the town and declared it a caliphate. The wives of the soldiers had taken to the streets on 12 August in Maiduguri to protest what they described as sending their husbands to die at the warfront because they were not being provided with adequate equipment as the servicemen were set to move out of the cantonment. Initial attempt to retake Gwoza had failed as the troops retreated to Maiduguri after the Islamists attacked them, killing scores and taking some of the weapons they abandoned. It was learnt that units of 213 Battalion Task Force and 234 Special Operations Battalion, both based in Mubi, who were involved in that earlier attempt retreated after coming under heavy fire of the insurgents. Some of the officers who led the operations were either killed or captured, according to some reports. But the wives of the soldiers of the 7th Division alleged that military authorities in Abuja and Maiduguri were sending their husbands to fight well-equipped Boko Haram militants with inferior weapons. According to them, the soldiers were not just provided with inferior and ageing weapons, but also limited ammunition. The protesting women also alleged that tanks being deployed to the war fronts were not serviceable. The women said they got the information from their husbands as the reason why the war against insurgency has dragged on and the military is recording heavy casualties. “He told me that the weapons they were using when he went for peace-keeping made it possible for them to subdue the enemy. He also told me that the Boko Haram insurgency will last for decades if requisite weapons are not provided. Our husbands are always given inferior weapons while the Boko Haram have superior weapons. From all indications, Nigeria’s government is not willing to end this violence,” one of the women, identified as Mrs. Rose Emmanuel, told journalists. Tabitha John, another of the wives of the soldiers, lamented that their husbands were being sent to the war front to fight Boko Haram only to return in body bags: “No weapons for our husbands, no trip to Gwoza or any volatile place. We are tired of burying our loved ones. As you can see, over 300 of us are here (in front of the Giwa Barracks) because we would not allow our husbands to go to Gwoza and get killed.” [caption id="attachment_10537" align="alignright" width="180"] •Agbakoba: Condemned the death sentence[/caption]John alleged that corpses of soldiers who had gone to battle Boko Haram were brought to Maiduguri from Gwoza and environs for burial the previous Saturday. One of the leaders of the women, identified as Jummai, lamented that before one officer is killed by the terrorists in the battle-front, more than 30 men would have been wasted. This, she said, was not because the soldiers don’t know how to fight but because the authorities have refused to do what is right. “We won’t allow our husbands to be killed because the military authorities have refused to do what is right. On Saturday, dozens of innocent soldiers were buried after they were killed but the authorities only said ‘sorry’ to bereaved wives,” Jummai said. The protest by the soldiers’ wives forced the authorities to shelve the idea of sending soldiers to Gwoza. In reaction, the military, through its spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade, had in a strong statement warned the women not to interfere in military affairs. But it was gathered that the wives of the soldiers may as well be acting at the behest of their husbands. According to some soldiers, it was not unusual for soldiers to die in combat. But, they quickly noted, when the casualty figures keep increasing, then something must be wrong somewhere. “The major reason we are losing our men in the North-East region is because we are poorly equipped. We always share our experiences with our wives…They know our capacity to fight and they also know our predicament now,” a soldier was quoted as saying in an Abuja-based newspaper in reaction to the protest. “I am not surprised at all because I saw it coming. Whenever we are going out for operation, some of our wives cry, thinking that we would not return and I don’t blame them. Personally, I lost over 30 of my colleagues this year and their wives are now widows,” he said. After a brazen raid by Boko Haram insurgents on some towns and villages in Borno State early this year, Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State, had also raised an alarm about the state of weapons being used by the militants in comparison to those by Boko Haram. And recently, when he visited President Jonathan after one of such attacks, he said, “Boko Haram are better armed and better motivated than our own troops. It is impossible for us to defeat the Boko Haram.” But this was instantly repudiated by the presidency. Analysts said last week that the recent successes by the insurgents against Nigerian troops are evident that the assertion by the governor and the wives of the servicemen is true. Thus, rather than the death sentence passed on the 12 soldiers, it is contended that it is provision of better weapons and improved welfare that will stop the revolt and desertion by the troops from the warfront, which General Kenneth Minimah, the Chief of Army Staff, had confirmed as becoming alarming in recent times. This is in tune with claims by residents of towns and villages which have come under the attack of the insurgents that soldiers keeping watch at duty posts in their areas always mysteriously disappeared on the approach of Boko Haram militants to their areas or ran away during confrontation with the extreme Islamists. In confirmation of this assertion, the military had at another court martial on Wednesday last week sentenced another 15 soldiers who refused orders to report at the war front in Adamawa to four-year jail term each. The soldiers were sentenced at a court martial held at the 23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola. The convicts were found guilty of insubordination and refusal to face the Boko Haram insurgents in the northern parts of the state. It was gathered that the convicted servicemen had run away to their cantonment when Boko Haram attacked their duty posts. This, said a source, is against military tradition in which a soldier is expected to obey the last order, thereby committing acts of insubordination by their dodging draft to the war front. He added that soldiers have been deserting their posts only to re-surface later with all manner of tales to justify their absence. This magazine also gathered that other soldiers who have refused to obey lawful orders are on line for court martial in different army formations across the country.