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Days after the uprising of a battalion of disgruntled soldiers against the former General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Nigerian Army Maiduguri’s Maimalari Barracks, Major-General Ahmadu Mohammed, the Nigerian military authorities are yet to classify the incident as mutiny. A final decision, a well-placed source clarified, would only be arrived at after the Investigative Team had concluded its work. According to the source, the consequences could be dire should it be conclusively determined that the actions of the erring soldiers falls under mutiny. “We are not calling it mutiny now until we have enough evidence to determine if it is mutiny because if it is eventually established its mutiny it’s a grievous offence, especially during war situation [and] that attracts death sentence,” said the source.
“During war you will be eliminated by firing squad, meaning they are supposed to be tied to a stake and fired. So it can also be attributed to a case of cowardice and desertion of duty, which is another serious offence.”
Describing the incident as unfortunate, the senior officer said the military were shocked beyond belief that the soldiers could have killed their GOC. “Can you imagine that they fired at him?!”
“The soldiers were sent on a mission to Chibok but on returning they were ambushed with some of them dying in the process,” the officer narrated. “As would be expected, by the time they (the surviving soldiers) returned, the GOC went to the hospital to encourage them and visit the wounded. That was when this set of soldiers insisted he must address them (the battalion).
“It was during this address that the soldiers started abusing him, firing shots in the air. Other officers and soldiers, in a bid to intervene, urged the GOC to enter his car for safety. They were however surprised when their colleagues started firing at their GOC. They fired his car as he tried to escape, can you imagine?!
“Definitely, the full wrath of law is going to be applied, which is death by firing squad because mutiny during the war is a serious offence.”
Investigations further revealed that the military authorities are determined to apply full weight military law through court-martial to determine the offences of the erring officers who fired at the immediate past GOC.
According to well-placed military source, a double-pronged investigation is on-going to determine the veracity of their offences and applied full wrath of the law in accordance with the Armed Forces Act (AFA) CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.
Speaking to THISDAY, the intelligence personnel noted that the level of indiscipline being exhibited by the soldiers needed to be nipped in the bud and the on-going investigation will help determine the culpability of those involved and the offences ranging from cowardice, desertion, insubordination, absence without leave and outright mutiny.
He said Section 181 of the AFA CAP A20 LFN 2004 provides how offences will be determined and punished through court-martial proceedings in the armed forces. According to him, some of the punishment may include demotion, summary dismissal, various jail terms and maximum of death sentence or life imprisonment.
On Wednesday last week, Mohammed, who has since been replaced by Brig-Gen. MY Ibrahim, escaped death by a whisker when a group of angry soldiers rebelled against him in protest over Boko Haram ambush that killed some of their colleagues.
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