54 Soldiers Sentenced To Death By Firing Squad For Refusing To Fight Islamist Insurgents
The soldiers were charged with court-martial for mutiny, assault, cowardice, and refusing to fight.
By Sadho Ram — 18 Dec 2014, 01:14 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
On Wednesday, 17 December 2014, a total of 54 soldiers have been sentenced to death by firing squad by a Nigerian court for refusing to go out to recapture towns taken by Boko Haram
The soldiers, who were found guilty of mutiny, were accused of refusing to help recapture three towns that had been seized by the Islamist group in August, the Slate reported via the BBC
The group has been waging an insurgency since 2009 and is seeking to create an Islamist state in north-eastern Nigeria.
More than 2,000 people have died in attacks blamed on Boko Haram so far this year and thousands more have been displaced by the fighting.
The court martial began in October and was conducted behind closed doors. Military officials were not available for comment afterwards.
An additional five soldiers who were charged were acquitted. Nigerian soldiers frequently argue that they are not paid in full, are left in the field without enough ammunition or food, and are outgunned by Boko Haram, The Daily Beast reported via the AP.
“[Nigerian] troops regularly complain that they are outgunned by Boko Haram, they are not paid in full and they are abandoned on the battlefield without enough ammunition or food,” according to the Associated Press.
“Twelve soldiers were sentenced to death in September for mutiny and attempted murder of the commanding officer in the counter-insurgency. They blamed him for the deaths of an unknown number of soldiers ambushed and killed after they were ordered to drive at night on a road frequently attacked by the militants.”
All the soldiers, accused of "conspiring to commit mutiny against the authorities of 7 Division, Nigerian Army", had denied the charges and the sentence is subject to approval by senior officers
Soldiers accused of refusing to fight in the country's northeastern Islamic uprising appear before a court-martial in Abuja, Nigeria
Image via voanews.comIn recent weeks, Special Forces have been deployed and have recaptured at least four towns with help from air raids, traditional hunters and vigilantes, as per a report by the Associated Press
The turnaround comes as Nigerians prepare for Feb. 14 presidential elections that are expected to be the most closely contested since decades of military dictatorship ended in 1999.
President Goodluck Jonathan, 57, is being challenged by former military dictator Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, 72.
Buhari is being touted by an opposition coalition as more likely to succeed in curbing the insurgency and in fighting corruption that Jonathan is accused of fueling.
ap.org