The
General Court Martial, GOC, sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State has sentenced a
soldier serving in Operation Lafiya Dole to death for murder.
Other soldiers also bagged jail sentences for
various offences ranging from manslaughter to illegal possession of fire arms
and ammunition.
The soldier, Lance Corporal John Godwin, was
charged with murder, which is punishable under Section 106 (a) of Armed Forces
Acts (Cap A20), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004, for killing five
rescued civilians in Yamteke town of Borno State.
The civilians were earlier rescued by troops of
the soldier’s battalion and were taken for investigation at the time the
soldier shot and killed five of them.
Another soldier, Sergeant Innocent Ototo, was
sentenced to life imprisonment for manslaughter after torturing and killing a
13-year-old boy who he said stole his phone. The incident happened at Zamanbari
area of Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State.
While Lance Corporal Benjamin Osage and Private
Sunday Onwe were also sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each for offences
bordering on manslaughter and illegal possession of fire arms and ammunition.
Delivering the judgement, the President of the
Court Martial, Gbenga Adesina, said that the offences run contrary to Nigerian
Army’s Rules of Engagement and also against Nigerian Laws and Geneva
Conventions which Nigeria is signatory to and which the Nigerian Army as a
professional army holds in high esteem.
No comments:
Post a Comment