A Court Martial, presided over by Major General A. C. Adetoba, which is trying 142 military officers for various offences related to the insurgency in the Northeast region, has adjourned to August 6, 2024.
The court, which began sitting in Maiduguri on July 8, 2024, has so far tried and sentenced around 10 officers out of the total.
The sentences ranged from dismissal to imprisonment for three to five years, while one officer was discharged and acquitted.
However, the fate of 20 soldiers, whose cases were deemed minor by military lawyers and recommended for transfer back to their units, remains uncertain.
Despite the recommendation, they have neither been listed for trial nor released to their units, and are still having their allowances of N87,000 per month collected by the military police.
The Court Marshal which adjourned on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, is expected to handle their trials expeditiously, according to sources within the Defence Headquarters.
Apart from General Adetoba of (AHQ DATI), other members of the panel include two Brigadier Generals: A.Y Yakubu, (HQ 36 AB); Brig. Gen. Abubakar -NAHFC; Navy Commodore P.P. Nimmyel – NAHFC; Col G.E. Archibong, DSA, and seven others.
The Prosecution team is led by Lt. Col. W.F David (7Div Provost Gp) with two other officers.
Some of the officers being tried had spent four years in detention with many others being incarcerated for over 12 months without trial in Maiduguri, Borno State, over alleged sundry offences including stealing of arms and ammunition or losing them to insurgents.
It was learnt that some of the detained soldiers had been in the war front for over six years without leave or PASS even as some had not visited their families to see their wives and children in the last three years.
It was further alleged that some of the detained soldiers reportedly stole some quantities of bullets while some others lost their guns to terrorists, among other sundry offences.
Among those detainees are about 20 soldiers who had been recommended to be released to their units because their cases were light according to military lawyers.
It was learnt that the military police had been collecting about N87,000 monthly feeding and other related allowances of most of the detained soldiers.
Some of the detained soldiers had also, been in the war front for over six years without being replaced with fresh hands or rotated just as they have not been issued with “PASS” to enable them travel to their various homes to see their parents or wives and children in the last three years.
Sources said that some of the soldiers were posted to the war front between 2017 and 2018 but have neither been rotated or transferred to other areas for fresh hands to move in since then.
A senior military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said some of the soldiers are weary even as most are suffering from war fatigue, crack or depression.
Some of the soldiers who were taken to the war front between the middle of 2017 and early January 2018, also said that their welfare or feeding arrangements depended solely on the garrison or brigade commanders.
Occasionally, soldiers in war fronts are given “pass” to visit their families but some of us have not our wives and children in the last two and a half years, some of the troops said, adding that some of their wives had abandoned them for other men including their colleagues in the barracks.
Their words, “Some Garrison or Brigade Commanders are not interested in troops welfare. However, some are more interested in promotions while some only feed soldiers well and not care about promotion or other welfare issues.
“Some commanders are very bad; both garrison and brigade commanders. They are not interested in paying their troops any benefits or promoting them. We have tasted all these types of denials.”
Some of the troops in Bama, Borno State, said they need more hands to fight the insurgents.
Sometimes, they attack our units of five or 11 soldiers, using RPG and AGL bombs while we use LMGs. If you abandon any weapon while escaping, you will be detained for a very long time, tried or court marshaled.
Meanwhile, close relations of the soldiers are complaining that, “Our brothers and husbands have been serving in the North East since early 2017 or 2018, without being changed or even allowed to visit their families at all. As we speak, we have not seen them since them for over two years and a half or three years. We learnt that some are feeling depressed.
“As their relations, we feel bad that these soldiers are unable to see their wives or children in the last three or four years. We feel emotionally disturbed. Some of them have lost their wives to other men or even fellow soldiers.”
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