Some
soldiers in the north-east who have been sentenced to death my the
military are seeking for pardon from the federal government.
The 54 Nigerian soldiers sentenced to death by the Military Court
Martial over alleged mutiny and refusal to fight the Islamist group,
Boko Haram, in the North East have approached the presidential probe
panel into human rights violation by the Armed Forces for pardon.
The General Court Martial, which sat at the Army Headquarters
Garrison in Abuja, had passed the sentence on the 54 soldiers to death
after they were found guilty of mutiny.
But, in a memorandum to the panel, the convicted soldiers, through
their lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said notwithstanding their appeal
pending before the Court of Appeal, the panel has jurisdiction to hear
their case.
Falana drew the attention of the panel to section 198 of the Armed
Forces Act as well as section 175 of the 1999 Constitution which, he
submitted, empowers the president to grant pardon to any convicted
person in Nigeria.
Falana submitted that nowhere in the terms of reference of the
panel is it stated that his clients cannot be accommodated by the panel.
The sections, according to him, did not say pending matters in the
court should not be entertained by the panel.
He told the panel that the president had set up a panel to
investigate the procurement of arms and ammunition where it was
discovered that funds meant for arms and ammunition were criminally
diverted.
The Nigerian Army has, however, pleaded for more time to respond to the petition.
Meanwhile, the panel also resumed hearing in the petition by the
Moon Valley communities in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State,
who narrated how they were sacked by the Nigerian Army.
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