An army officer has been imprisoned by a court marshal after he was caught stealing bullets.
Army court marshal in progress (File photo)
A military court martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State has sentenced a soldier to 18 months in prison for stealing live ammunitions outside his assigned duty post.
Also, three others were banned from receiving promotion for periods ranging from 18 months to two years for unprofessional conduct in the frontline.
The court martial, headed by Olusegun Adeniyi, a Brigadier General, tried Private Mcdonald Chukwu on a two-count charge after he was caught at a bus station with 89 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunitions inside his travelling bag.
Chukwu was arrested by a female police sergeant, Sarah Peters, after she searched his bag as he was about to board a commercial bus in Maiduguri. In his earlier statement, he admitted being in possession of the ammunitions, but said he forgot them in his bag when he returned from his duty post, as he hurried to get money from an ATM machine to travel.
He later recanted by saying the ammunitions were not found in his bag.
An Army Major, Usman Inyam, was made to forfeit 18 months of his seniority status, for professional misconduct that involved his abandoning duty post in such a manner that may have endangered the lives of troops in the frontline.
His lone charge indicated that as a commanding officer in charge of infantry troops in Takumbare area of Gwoza local government, Mr. Inyam abandoned a post frequently used by Boko Haram insurgents when under attack by soldiers.
He will forfeit his seniority by 20 months, while a captain, Christopher Leche, was stripped for two years.
The court martial would continue its sitting on Wednesday when it is expected to deliver judgment on more cases before it.
Few weeks ago, a Special Court Martial demoted Maj.-Gen. Patrick Falola, to Brigadier-General for admitting students for clinical training without permission from higher authorities.