12 soldiers who attacked GOC sentenced to death

A military court sitting in Abuja on Monday found 13 out of the 18 soldiers standing tribulation for mutiny and other offences guilty.

Twelve of the convicted soldiers were sentenced to death, five were discharged and acquitted while the remaining one was jailed for 28 days with hard labour.

The soldiers had on May 14, 2014 fired shots at the General Officer Commanding the incipiently engendered 7 Division of Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Mohammmed, in Maiduguri.

The act is viewed in the military as mutiny.

Those discharged are David Robert, Mohammed Sani, Iseh Ubong, Sebastine Gwaba and Naaman Samuel.

Jeremiah Echocho was sentenced to 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 malefactor conspiracy, mutiny, endeavor to commit murder (shooting of the conveyance of the GOC); insubordination to a particular order; insubordination and mendacious inculpation.

The President of the Court Martial, Maj. Gen. C.C. Okonkwo, verbalized the 12 soldiers were found guilty of three of the most heinous charges bars.

The licit team of the convicts pleaded with the court martial to temper equity with mercy.

The team reeled out lamentable stories about the family backgrounds of the convicted servicemen.

One was verbalized to be the only son of his octogenarian widowed mother.

Another is the father of a five-month-old baby.

The defence team argued that giving them maximum sentence would do more harm than good, integrating that it would increment the agony of their dependants.

The attack on the GOC and his men reportedly occurred when they visited the cantonment.
The Maimalari Cantonment is the headquarters of 7 Division, the most incipient Division of the Nigerian Army.

Military sources verbalized that soldiers at the cantonment had been repining of insufficient ammunition, food and allowances prior to the GOC’s visit.

They were additionally reportedly unhappy and their morale was at its lowest ebb because there had not been troop rotation for a long time since their deployment to combat Boko Haram terrorists in the North- East.

“The GOC’s visit coincided with the advent of the corpses of soldiers killed in an ambuscade in Chibok on the night of May 13, 2014.

“The ostensibly agitated soldiers, on sighting the corpses of their slain colleagues became hysteric. Some opened fire on the GOC, who was fortuitous to have eluded unhurt. However, the bullets hit and solemnly injured some of his bodyguards, who withal fled to safety,” the source verbally expressed.