Whether it was the case of the murder of Sheikh Goni in Yobe State or the woman in Kastina, or the killing of policemen in Taraba State, the Nigerian Army has largely demonstrated inconsistencies and double standard in dispensing justice for its officers and men,The revelation by the Nigerian Army that it had dismissed two soldiers involved in the killing of a popular Yobe cleric, Sheikh Aisami Goni Gashua may have again exposed the double standard deployed to dispense justice by the military...
He said that both soldiers were charged and summarily tried for failure to perform military duties and conduct prejudice to service discipline. The offences, according to him, are punishable under Section 62 of Armed Forces Act CAP A20 and Section 103 of Armed Forces Act CAP A20 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004.
After what was said to be a thorough investigation of the case, the Army set up a court-martial in Sokoto to try them for the offences of murder which is a capital crime and extortion, in line with the Armed Forces Act. The soldiers were found guilty of the crime and sentenced to death. But the Army Council later commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.
Three policemen and two civilians working with the IRT were killed during the incident, while five other police officers were injured. The policemen who died were Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeants Usman DanAzumi and Dahiru Musa. In a confession after he was re-arrested in Kano, the kidnapping kingpin had told his interrogators in Abuja that: “The police came to arrest me. When they arrested me, the army chased after them and opened fire. From there, they took me to their headquarters and cut off my handcuffs and released me. I went back to my house, but the police came to re-arrest me.”
Apart from the fact that police investigations showed that the army captain exchanged 191 phone conversations with the kidnap kingpin between July 9 and August 6, 2019, in one instance, the logs showed that the two men exchanged 166 phone calls. Documents also showed that Wadume similarly made several calls to the Ibi Divisional Crime Officer.
On July 22, 2022, Wadume was convicted by Justice Binta Nyako and jailed for seven years. The judge handed down the sentence after finding him guilty of charges relating to escaping from lawful custody, as well as illegal dealings in prohibited firearms.
Nigeria my country