The trial of 59 soldiers accused of two-count
charges of conspiracy and mutiny continues today, even as the prosecution
witness confirmed that 47 of the soldiers participated in the operations.
At the trial of the soldiers on Wednesday, at the
Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja, the President of the General Military Court
Martial, Brigadier-General Musa Yusuf, restated the commitment of the Nigerian
Army to fair hearing, justice and fairness in the trial of the 60 soldiers
accused of breaching the law.
He said the charges of “mutiny, contrary to and
punishable under section 52(1)(a) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 laws of the
federation”. And count two charge of conspiracy to commit mutiny, punishable
under the same Act, the reason they are standing trial.
On both counts, the 59 accused persons pleaded not
guilty to both charges.
When the first Prosecution witness, Lieutenant
Colonel Timothy Opurun, mounted the dock, he confirmed being the Commanding
Officer of the 111 Special Forces Battalion troops.
In his statement, Opurun said the soldiers “at
Mulia Primary School, on the 4th of August, 2014, refused to join” their
compatriots “for an advance operation to recapture Delwa, Bulabulin and Damboa
in Borno State from Boko Haram terrorists”.
In the course of cross examination by the lead
defence counsel, Femi Falana, Opurun said that, 68 soldiers actually refused to
participate in the operation and deserted. Out of which eight are still at
large and declare Away Without Leave, which another punishable offence. 13 of
them were said to be arrested by the military police, while 47 others
voluntarily rejoined their comrades when the need for reinforcement arosed.
“As we were attacked by the terrorists, we tried to
defend but the fire power and number of our attackers over powered us, so we
withdrew to get support, as we got the support we need 47 of the soldiers who
deserted were among the troops, that came for reinforcement”, and the
terrorists were overpowered.
Opurun also restated that a standard battalion of
an army should have 760 soldiers with a minimum of 123 in each of the three
combat companies that make up the battalion.
The Guardian gathered that most of the soldiers
resorted to running to join up with their compatriots in Maiduguri because they
were sceptical of victory against the better armed and motivated terrorists,
even as the Nigerian troops were outnumbered as confirmed in Opurun’s response.
When a second witness was called to mount the dock,
General Yusuf said the court would adjourn to continue today, (Thursday).
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