It is not only a question of justice, but also a question of honour. Concerning the controversial 2015 terror-war mutineers now sentenced to 10 years in prison after a death-sentence review, Nigeria’s military authorities demonstrated a nauseatingly narrow appreciation of the connection between justice and honour. Injustice, no matter how well dressed, is dishonourable. Not only was the sentence reduction ironically unjust, it amounted to a badge of dishonour for the military hierarchy.
Curiously enough, Lagos activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) made an effort to clarify the information released by Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman on December 19 about the number of soldiers whose mutiny-related death sentences were commuted to imprisonment. Falana said: “Twelve soldiers were convicted in September 2014 and sentenced to death by a court-martial for demanding for weapons when the General Officer Commanding, the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, visited a military camp in the war zone while 58 others were convicted and sentenced to death in December by another court-martial for demanding for weapons to fight the insurgents. Therefore, the number of soldiers who were sentenced to death by the two court-martials is 70 and not 66.”
Beyond the confusing detail relating to the number of soldiers involved, more bewildering is the decision by the military authorities to impose a 10-year jail term on the previously condemned men despite exonerating evidence.
It is as if the military leadership is blinded by denial. The global village now knows for sure that public funds meant for fighting and winning the terror war, running into billions, were rerouted by powerful individuals in the discredited Goodluck Jonathan presidency. The corruption-spiced narrative is still unfolding, with former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki right in the middle of the mess.
Now, this is what President Muhammadu Buhari said in a recent transcribed interview with the Hausa Service of BBC: “I want people to understand that after I settled down and got a good grasp of what the country is going through, we removed all the service chiefs and appointed new ones. We also undertook an investigation and found out how monies meant for arms procurement were diverted and shared by officials in the last administration.”
A report said: “The mutiny was sparked by the death in a Boko Haram ambush of dozens of fellow soldiers when they were ordered against their will to drive down a dangerous road at night. Hundreds of Nigerian soldiers have deserted, complaining that they are not properly equipped to fight Boko Haram. The Associated Press said several soldiers told its correspondents that they were sent into battle with just 30 bullets and no food rations.”
The now glaring and undeniable evidence of unprofessionalism by those who were supposed to lead the war on terror, which was a complicating factor, shows that the initial imposition of a death sentence on the mutineers was a case of double standard, inexplicable and inexcusable even in the context of military regimentation. If a death sentence was ridiculous in the circumstances, it is even more absurd that this was commuted to a jail term.
Those who deserve to be punished are the crooks that used the anti-terror war against Boko Haram as a cover, and profited from billions meant for anti-terror arms. The arms scam and the alleged scammers making the news at this time are at the heart of the Jonathan administration’s failure to defeat the Islamist terrorists who have been on the rampage in the country’s northeast since 2009.
Apart from the huge number of mortalities linked with the insurgency, and the huge figures of internally displaced persons, the yet-to-be-resolved kidnap of 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, over a year ago, remains a huge open wound on the country’s conscience.
It was an open secret in the Jonathan presidential era that people in power ironically fuelled the Boko Haram insurgency by fraudulent acts. The anti-terror war became a pro-terror effort because of the weakening of state-capacity by government officials expected to win the war. Under the Jonathan administration, the image of the Nigerian military appeared irredeemable as it battled unimpressively and unconvincingly against terrorism.
Now the world knows the terror war was kept going and had to be kept going, to keep the fraudulent actors going. So, the mutinous soldiers have been vindicated. Their ultimate vindication would come when they are not made to pay for the sins of others. Or is military justice inflexibly and unfairly different?
There is no question that the military’s already stained image in this matter would be further tainted if the authorities reject commonsensical flexibility for professional rigidity. The jailed mutineers deserve a further case review. Nothing short of freedom for them will do.
NATION
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