Two Brigadier Generals and 21 other army officers who are currently facing a court martial over alleged sabotage in the war against Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, in the North Eastern part of Nigeria have been indicted and shall get their verdicts next week.
Though their charges were not officially made public but according to a top Military source, “their charges range from treason, sabotage and deliberate subversion of military tactics leading to avoidable killing of Nigerian soldiers by Boko Haram terrorists.”
The court-martial opened last Monday at the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos and has lasted for one week. Besides two brigadier generals, 14 colonels, a major, a second lieutenant and five captains are being arraigned.
Sources from Falana and Falana Chamber, counsel to the embattled soldiers, said the chamber was yet to be served the charges of the soldiers. “We do not understand why the Army is conducting this trial behind camera, we all know that some soldiers, including generals were arrested for one crime or the other, so why making their trial secret?”
The Principal Partner in the chamber, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in a telephone chat with our correspondent, confirmed the trial of the soldiers. “But I must say that, we do not understand what their offences are, because we have not been served with their charges. We would wait for them to finish their military trial and we would appeal and the trial would continue in the conventional court.”
A source also revealed to our Correspondent that the court-martial is done in secret. Apart from Military officers, no other person is allowed into the small hall that they are. “Even media people were barred from covering the trial. Journalists that heard about it and decided to come were told that, they were not invited and as such, cannot enter, so all of them went back. Let me tell you this, the place is under heavy guard.”
Some elements of the Nigerian military have long been suspected of collusion with Boko Haram, the dreaded Islamists, that allegedly killed an estimated 10,000 people in the last three years of its battle to revive a medieval caliphate in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest energy producer.
It would be recalled that in a separate, but related move, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Fatou Bensouda, said she was looking into alleged mass-killings by Boko Haram, and promised to charge those responsible for any atrocities.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said in January that the Sunni jihadist group had “infiltrated the armed forces and police” and this is not the first time that senior army officers would be put on trial for offences relating to Boko Haram.
“The officers are being prosecuted for offences they committed during the ongoing war against Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast of the country,” a military source told our Correspondent.
In December last year, 54 soldiers were sentenced to death following a secret trial for conspiracy to commit mutiny. The army said the soldiers disobeyed a direct order while facing insurgents in the northeast.
Twelve soldiers were also sentenced to death for mutiny in September last year after the military said they attempted to kill their commanding officer.
Morale was extremely low among foot soldiers in Nigeria’s northeast, where poorly equipped and underpaid troops faced a determined foe. “But presently, the troops are in high spirit and evidence abound that they are happy. Most of the territories allegedly under the control of the Islamists have been recovered and indigenes returned to rebuild their towns,” said Military spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade.
Nigerian Military in the last few days has overrun many Boko Haram bases including towns like Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, which was headquarter of the sect. The military killed scores, with the military putting the death toll at 150, while some local officials put it as high as 2,000. This happened after the military had weeded off the moles in their midst. “The moles used to leak the military operational plan to the sect, and they make use of it effectively against Nigerian troops.”
The global war crimes court has the task of investigating and prosecuting the most serious international crimes if local authorities are unable or unwilling to do so.
It has been examining the Nigerian violence with a view to opening a possible investigation since 2010.
“The intentional targeting of civilians, affecting thousands of women, children and men, cannot be tolerated,” she said in a statement. “Nobody should doubt my resolve, if need be, to prosecute those individuals most responsible.”
