Nigerian Army Sets Up Court Martial To Try 158 Officers, Soldiers In North-East

According to The PUNCH, the Nigerian Army’s Joint Task Force North-East Operation Hadin Kai, on Saturday, inaugurated two court martials to try defaulting personnel serving at the operation ground in the North-East.

The military personnel numbering 158 will, according to the Theatre Commander of the Joint Taskforce, Maj Gen Christopher Musa, be tried on matters that pertain directly to the regimentation, discipline, efficiency and morale of the military.

According to Punch, Musa made this assertion while inaugurating the general and special court-martials in Maiduguri, Borno State.

“To maintain the armed forces in a state of readiness, the military as an institution must be ready to enforce internal discipline effectively in accordance with the extant laws,” the Theatre Commander stated.

“The military has its code of service discipline to meet its peculiar disciplinary needs. In this regard, emphasis shall be laid on statute laws and the traditional military regimentation with due adherence to the fair hearing requirements as enshrined in the Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended,” he noted.

Also speaking, the President of the General Court Martial, Maj Gen. Bainze Mohammed, said there are 28 officers to be tried while the remaining 130 are soldiers serving in the various units of the operation ground.

He said further that the two courts martial inaugurated were in line with the two set of laws guiding the command. As such, the court martial is not only a jury for trial but also a court to speedily dispose cases and award punishments in the event of conviction of any personnel.