A
military court martial sitting in Abuja on Monday found 13 out of the 18
soldiers standing trial 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.
You
may recall that the soldiers had on May 14, 2014 fired shots at the General
Officer Commanding the newly created 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major
Gen. Ahmed Mohamed, in Maiduguri. The act is viewed in the military as mutiny.
They
were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder
{shooting of the vehicle of the GOC}; insubordination to a particular order;
insubordination and false accusation.
The
legal team of the convicts pleaded with the court martial to temper justice
with mercy. The team reeled out pathetic stories about the family backgrounds
of the convicted servicemen.
One
was said 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 the
maximum sentence would do more harm than good, adding that it would increase
the agony of their dependents.
THE
QUESTION
What has the military done about the
Generals that have been alleged to be sponsoring Boko Haram?
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