54 Nigeria soldiers sentenced to death for refusing combat

What you need to know:

  • “They sentenced 54 to death and acquitted five,” said prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana, following a verdict in a trial that began on October 15 and was conducted behind closed doors.
  • The sentence is subject to approval by top army brass, but there has so far been no indication that senior officers oppose the court martial.
  • “For the past one year, the insurgents have made several attempts to attack Gumsuri but were resisted by the gallant youths of the village,” he told AFP. “It is sad that on Sunday, the village was subdued,” he added.

ABUJA, Thursday

A Nigerian court martial Thursday sentenced to death 54 soldiers convicted of mutiny after they allegedly refused to deploy for an operation against Boko Haram Islamists in the northeast, their lawyer said.

“They sentenced 54 to death and acquitted five,” said prominent human rights lawyer Femi Falana, following a verdict in a trial that began on October 15 and was conducted behind closed doors.

Reporters were turned away from the court before the tribunal gave its verdict and military officials were not available for comment afterwards.

In a similar case in September, 12 soldiers were sentenced to death for mutiny after firing on their commanding officer in the northeast city of Maiduguri, where troops are battling against Boko Haram.

Frontline troops have consistently complained that they lack the weapons and other supplies needed to face Boko Haram in insurgent strongholds.

The Islamists, waging a five-year uprising to create a caliphate in northern Nigeria, are known to have tanks, rocket-propelled-grenade launchers and other heavy weaponry, while troops have reported lacking ammunition for basic AK-47 rifles.

After Boko Haram captured a series of towns in the northeast earlier this year, the military vowed to retake all lost territory. The 7 Division, based in Maiduguri, was tasked with leading the offensive but there are numerous reports of troops refusing to deploy.

The men sentenced to death on Wednesday were part of the special forces division ordered in August to retake three lost towns in restive Borno state, of which Maiduguri is the capital.

SUBJECT TO APPROVAL

The sentence is subject to approval by top army brass, but there has so far been no indication that senior officers oppose the court martial.

Meanwhile, Boko Haram militants killed 32 people and kidnapped 185 others in an attack on the village of Gumsuri in the restive northeast, local officials and a witness said Thursday.

The two officials, who requested anonymity, said locals were still counting those abducted in the attack Sunday in the remote area but that the figure could pass 100 and included women and children.

“After killing our youths, the insurgents have taken away our wives and daughters,” said Mukhtar Buba, who fled Gumsuri to the Borno state capital Maiduguri.

Details took four days to emerge because the mobile phone network has largely collapsed in the area roughly 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Maiduguri, and many of the roads are impassable.

Gamsuri is located on the road that leads to Chibok, where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls from a school in April.

One of the local officials said the village had previously been protected against Boko Haram violence by a strong vigilante force, but that they were overpowered in Sunday’s attack.

“For the past one year, the insurgents have made several attempts to attack Gumsuri but were resisted by the gallant youths of the village,” he told AFP. “It is sad that on Sunday, the village was subdued,” he added.

The military and police were not immediately available for comment.

Boko Haram has repeatedly attacked the vigilante forces which have formed across the northeast, describing them as legitimate targets for siding with Nigeria’s military.

The other local official said the insurgents “stormed the village in a convoy of vehicles (armed) with petrol bombs” and heavy weapons. (AFP)