Army dissolves courts martial

Strong indications emerged on Saturday that the new Chief of Staff, Maj. – Gen. Tukur Buratai, has begun the process of reviewing cases of soldiers dismissed from service as a result of alleged acts of cowardice, insubordination, mutiny and related allegations.

Our correspondents learnt that the Army under the leadership of Buratai was revisiting all the cases against military officers and soldiers which emanated from the ongoing operation against the insurgents in the North- East.

SUNDAY PUNCH learnt on Saturday that the army chief had constituted a committee to review all the cases involving some soldiers who had either been convicted or still facing trial in the three General Military Courts Martial in Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja.

It was further learnt that the army chief had dissolved all the ongoing General Military Courts Martial in Nigeria.

It was learnt that the officers and soldiers involved are expected to report at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, for the screening exercise.

A reliable source, who confided in one of our correspondents, said the committee which would begin sitting on August 7, would sit for 25 days for a holistic re-visitation of the cases involved in the operation.

It was gathered that a good number of the soldiers might be given a second opportunity to continue their careers in the military.

A good number of those detained or sentenced and dismissed for various offenses in various batches in their thousands belong to Special Forces Battalions who fought in different parts of the North East.

It was further learnt that those who might be lucky enough to benefit from the second chance from the new Army Chief might be given a short retraining exercise and given the opportunity to join their colleagues in the fight against the insurgents.

The source said, “The new Army Chief has constituted a committee to revisit the cases of all officers and men of the Nigerian Army who are either dismissed or undergoing trial in various General Military Courts Martial for alleged offences committed in the ongoing war against Boko Haram.

“I think the directive involved those dismissed without trial in their various formations, those tried and dismissed and those still facing trial. The cases are general, they involve cases from the military operation in the North East.

“Those to report in the NDA would be given the opportunity of retraining and being brought back into the campaign against insurgency.”

The Army’s Acting Director, Public Relations, Col. Sani Umar, said the Army was reviewing “all recent disciplinary cases due to wave of litigations by some aggrieved personnel.”

Umar said the directive didn’t mean a total recall of dismissed and deserter soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has unearthed an abandoned college of education’s chemistry laboratory in Borno State which Boko Haram had turned into the centre for the manufacturing of improvised explosives devices.

The latest discovery was made during the clear out of the terrorist group from Dikwa which was recently liberated by the Nigerian troop, according to the Deputy Director Army Public Relations and spokesman for the 7 Division Nigerian Army with headquarters in Maiduguri, Colonel Tukur Gusau.

Gusau in a statement on Saturday said, “Troops of 7 Division Nigerian Army conducting mop up operations to clear Dikwa and environs of Boko Haram terrorists recovered 4 Toyota Hilux vehicles today (Saturday).”

Army dissolves courts martial