Falana ‎urges Buhari to pardon soldiers convicted for mutiny

Adesomoju, Abuja

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon all soldiers convicted by various courts martial for offences of mutiny allegedly committed while prosecuting the war against Boko Haram in the North East.

Falana, argued in his letter dated January 15, 2016 and addressed to President Buhari,‎ that the conviction passed on the soldiers and the summary dismissal over 3,000 of others amounted to grave injustice since they were only punished for demanding weapons to fight the terrorists.

The letter is titled, ‘Request for presidential pardon for all convicted members of the armed forces pursuant to section 175 of the Nigerian Constitution’.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who urged the President to exercise his prerogative of mercy in favour of the soldiers ‎under section 175 of the Constitution, reminded the President of recent revelation of how funds meant for purchase of arms were allegedly diverted by the Office of the National Security Adviser under Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

He said withthe revelation by the presidential committee set up by Buhari which the President himself recently acknowledged in a recent interview he granted BBC Hausa Service, it was evident that the soldiers did not commit ‎

mutiny or any other offence whatsoever in demanding for adequate weapons to fight the well armed insurgents.‎”
The letter read in part, “In view of the grave injustice which had characterized the trial of the convicted soldiers we made a passionate appeal to the current Chief of Army Staff, General Yussuf Butarai, not to confirm the iniquitous findings of the courts-martial.
“We also appealed to him to recall the dismissed soldiers without prejudice to the suits which we had instituted on their behalf at the National Industrial Court. Upon coming to the conclusion that  the ingredients of the offence of mutiny were not  proved beyond reasonable doubt as required by law General Butarai commuted the death sentences passed on 66 out of the 70 condemned soldiers to 10 years’ imprisonment.
“He also ordered the recall and reinstatement of 3,002 soldiers who were illegally flushed out of the army by his predecessor.
“Since the soldiers who have been reinstated and the scores of others who were convicted by the courts-martial were alleged to have committed the same “offence” Gen. Butarai ought to have treated them in like manner.
“In other words, all the convicted soldiers should equally have been pardoned and reinstated without any conditions. More so, that the Arms Procurement Panel instituted by Your Excellency has confirmed that the sum of $2.1 billion and N643 billion set aside for the purchase of equipment for counter insurgency operations was allegedly diverted by the immediate past National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki  and his several accomplices. It has been further revealed by the Panel that another sum of $2 billion and $29 billion for procurement of arms for the Nigeria Air Force was equally diverted by a coterie of serving and retired military officers and their civilian accomplices.