Four soldiers who tortured civilian to death bag jail terms

Four soldiers have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to four years for torturing a civilian to death.

The erring soldiers are Sani Ishaya, Bidemi Fabiyi, Abdulrasheed Adamu, and Bala Musa.

They were sentenced on Tuesday following their arraignment for manslaughter by the Nigerian Army before the 7 Division General Court Marshal, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Ishaya, who was arraigned along with the others for torturing Peter Apogu to death over suspected theft, was sentenced to four years imprisonment.

His accomplice Fabiyi was slammed with two years imprisonment while Adamu and Musa got one year each for their involvement in the crime.

Similarly, another soldier was sentenced to three years imprisonment for unprofessional conduct and use of a firearm for unauthorised public display at a wedding, leading to the death of a 12-year-old boy.

In his reaction, the father of the minor thanked the military authorities for dispensing justice, three years after the crime was committed.

Counsel to the defendants, Adetutu Oriyomi, thanked the court for a fair judgement and blame the soldiers’ conducts on ignorance.

On the other hand, Aja Emmanuel, a lance corporal, was deranked for assaulting a civilian suspected of theft in his Area of Responsibility.

The highpoint of the court martial’s proceedings was the sentencing of a soldier arraigned for murder to death by hanging.

The court tried the erring soldier, Trooper Azunna Maduabuchi, and established that he opened fire at close range, emptying nine rounds of his magazine at the adjutant of his unit, Lieutenant Babakaka Ngorgi, killing him instantly.

Maduabuchi was serving at the 212 Battalion Bama when he committed the offence in July 2020.

He was angry that his application for travel leave to enable him to rectify some problems with his bank was turned down by the ill-fated adjutant.

In his ruling, the President of the Court Martial, Brigadier General Arikpo Ekubi, said the trooper betrayed the trust bestowed on him by the Nigerian Army.

According to Ekubi, the offence has a mandatory sentence for the murderer who is to suffer death by firing squad in accordance with Section 106 of the Armed Forces Act.

Seven soldiers were sentenced on Tuesday by the court. (Channels TV)