On Tuesday, 12 soldiers were sentenced to death for the incident on charges of conspiracy, mutiny and attempted murder.
The revolt happened after soldiers were ordered to drive at night on a road frequently attacked by Boko Haram. The soldiers initially refused, saying it was a suicide mission. They eventually followed orders, and were ambushed.
The convoy was driving from Chibok, the northeastern town from which more than 270 girls and women were abducted from a school in April.
The bodies of the dead were brought to Maiduguri, leading to a demand by colleagues to speak to the 7th Division's commanding officer, Major General Mohammed. Witnesses said they threw stones and shot at him. He escaped because his car was bulletproof.
PUNCH, in its investigative report, quoted a source as saying: “The Maj. Gen. has been retired; you don’t expect that to be made public; issues of retirement especially in the military are confidential. The man was at the Army headquarters for some time. He was awaiting posting then but he was eventually retired about a month ago.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians as well as some human rights organizations and labour unions are reacting to the death sentence passed on the 12 soldiers.
Below are their comments:
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN)
“While mutiny cannot be condoned by the armed forces because it strikes at the foundation of discipline in the military it ought to be pointed out that the 18 soldiers were erroneously charged under section 52(1) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Fortunately, the General Officer Commanding whose car was shot at was not killed. Hence, the soldiers were charged with attempted murder which does not attract the death penalty.
“Before the incident the soldiers at the Maimalari cantonment had complained of insufficient ammunition, food and allowances. The visit of the GOC was said to have coincided with the arrival of the corpses of soldiers killed in an ambush in Chibok on the night of May 13, 2014. It was the tragic situation which reportedly infuriated the soldiers. Having investigated and confirmed the circumstances which led to the mutiny in question the military authorities removed the GOC.
“In the light of the foregoing, we urge the Army Council not to confirm the death sentence passed on the 12 soldiers but commute same to imprisonment in the interest of Justice. The facts and circumstance of the mutinous act of the convicted soldiers should be taken into consideration”.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation
“The last thing we need now is the blood of the 12 mutinous soldiers on our hands. The consequences of executing them may be grave”
Mr Augustine Alegeh, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
“Military laws are recognised in our constitution, and those who have been sentenced to death have the right to appeal the judgment.
“However, we are losing so many of our soldiers to violent activities of insurgents. So, why do we want to kill them? The country should consider these soldiers and rescind the capital punishment.”
Mr Adekunle Ojo, a former NBA chairman
“It was a case of gentlemen who were ordinarily asked to go for a duty and despite serious warnings on the way that they should not go, they went because they were obeying the orders of the GOC and unfortunately, about seven of them lost their lives in the process and others had to turn back.
“They revolted because they were embittered. By and large, it could constitute an offence, but then, a lot of things should have been put into consideration. The judgment, as it were, was high handed and severe for what happened and considering the circumstances of the case itself, we are still fighting these insurgents and the crisis has not abated in any form.
“The judgment is not necessary at this point in time and, above all, it can send a wrong signal to others still in service. We should not create a crisis situation,”
Mr Fred Agbaje SAN), Human rights activist and lawyer
“It’s only in Nigeria that workers’ legitimate demands will amount to mutiny and death sentence is the repercussion of such demands. Is life that cheap in Nigeria?
“The right to life, coupled with the right to fair hearing vested in every Nigerian, cannot be lightly toyed with in any trial, whether administrative, court martial or even by the regular courts.
“Hence, to decree death sentence to a citizen of this country without the fullest compliance with the rules governing jurisdiction, fair hearing or want of due process is a travesty of Sections 6 and 36 of the constitution, which provisions supersede any other laws, including marital laws.”
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), through its General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Esan,
“You know the military all over the world has its judicial process. We believe that the sentences are still awaiting the approval of the Army Council. It is when that process is completed that the full details and the circumstances would be taken into consideration. Where it is possible, some degree of clemency should be shown. We therefore appeal for some degree of clemency by the Army Council.”
TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama,
"While we applaud these laudable effort, we would also want to remind the Federal Government and the military leadership that inasmuch as the congress will not encourage revolt or disobedience to military authorities, we will also not fail to reject and condemn the death sentence passed by the court martial on 12 soldiers.
“We wonder why and how such a protest against sabotage could suddenly be termed criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder (shooting of the vehicle of the GOC); insubordination to a particular order and false accusation by the president of the Court Martial, Maj. Gen. C.C. Okonkwo.
“To us, the issues are clearly more and the congress makes bold to say that the approach adopted on the issue that is already at the public domain is very incorrect. We reiterate that we abhor the temperamental response of the tried soldiers to the needless loss of lives of their colleagues due to needless orders from above, and do urge the military to put its house in order and fish out all the Boko Haram apologists within its ranks.”
Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)
“The court martial system is totally unconstitutional. They (soldiers) have the right to go to court and appeal the judgment. Actually, I have asked my lawyers to approach them and afford them our services to lodge an appeal.
“I have represented a number of soldiers at court martial. In particular, I represented Gen. JOJ Okulagu and my point at the court martial was that a process that allows the commander to appoint the investigator, the court martial president, members and the judge advocate is clearly contrary to all principles of natural justice.
“The basis of justice is that everybody who has the power to decide has a duty to act fairly. Without prejudice to the offence, whether the person is guilty or not, he is entitled to a fair trial”
Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, through its Chairman, Debo Adeniran,
“It was done at a wrong time. If they are found guilty at all, such pronouncement ought not to have been made at this material time when our soldiers are in short supply of motivation for the expedition they are forced to engage in.
“It will only dampen their spirit, because they know what led to the mutiny. It was a statement of frustration from those guys because they already knew well that the outcome of it might not be favourable.
“Those who are still in the war front will not be motivated by such judgment at this material time and that may now spell doom for the Nigerian military rank.”
See the names of the convicted soldiers in the story: Mutiny: 12 Nigerian soldiers sentenced to death…to be executed by firing squad
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