The Nigerian Army has concluded
arrangements to arraign 16 soldiers over the April 14, 2014, abduction
of over 200 students of the Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno
State.
Three of the soldiers are officers while the remaining 13 soldiers belong to other ranks.
Our correspondent gathered in Abuja on
Monday that barring any last minute change, they would appear before the
General Court Martial at the Maxwell Khobe Military Cantonment, Rukuba,
Jos in Plateau State after the Sallah holidays.
The officers are Lieutenant Col. A. O. Ojo, Capt. O. O. Ogunrinde, and 2nd Lieutenant V.I. Godknows.
The 16 are among 117 soldiers facing a
GCM convened by the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Army
in Kaduna, Maj.Gen. K. C. Osuji, on August 6, 2014.
A source said their trial would take place at the headquarters of the 3rd Armoured Division, Rukuba in Jos for security reasons.
The GCM panel comprises Col. J.J.
Ogunlade (President); Col. J. O. Sokoya, Col. M. Kadiri, Col. M. W.
Abubakar, Col. A. A. Bamgbose, Col. A. Garba and Col E.M. Albara.
Lt. Colonels B. Garke and O. S.
Obot are the waiting members of the panel which has Captain A. Mohammed
as the judge advocate and Lt. G. B. Suleiman as the liaison officer.
Investigations on Monday revealed that
Ojo, who was the Unit Commander, in Biu, was summoned to the GCM in
relation with the conflict in the number of girls said to have been
abducted by Boko Haram insurgents and those rescued at the time of the
incident.
The officer is also being charged for alleged failure to reinforce the Chibok community when the incident occurred.
It was gathered that the officers were
being charged for failure to perform military duty, an offence that
attracts a maximum of two years’ imprisonment.
A source, who confided in our
correspondent said that the Lt. Colonel had stated that the number he
gave was not the one that was used in a statement by the Defence
Headquarters on the reported rescue of some of the abducted girls.
The said statement was later withdrawn.
The source said, “The Lt. Colonel is
being charged for allegedly giving information without verification,
negligent performance of military duty and not going to reinforce the
place where the incident took place. The charge attracts a maximum of
two years’ imprisonment.”
He also said that Ojo had not completely
taken over from his predecessor and had complained about the number of
men and equipment on the ground when the abduction took place two days
after his arrival in Biu for the mission.
It was stated that the shortage of men
was shown by the fact that only the 2nd Lt. and 13 soldiers were in
Chibok in spite of the fact that the place had a heavy presence of
insurgents.
It was gathered that the other soldiers
led by Godknows were on duty at the headquarters of the Chibok Local
Government Area on the day of the incident.
Another source told our correspondent that the Army was not notified of the examinations that were going on in the school.
The source said that a statement by the Principal of the School, Asabe Kwambura, corroborated the soldiers’ claim.
Investigations revealed that the
soldiers left their location in Chibok to lay in ambush when they
received a report that insurgents were planning to attack them on the
night the schoolgirls were seized.
They were said to have lost a soldier during the face-off with the Boko Haram members.
The source said, “Only Godknows and 13
soldiers were on duty in Chibok. They were not stationed within the
school. No soldier was stationed in the school and they didn’t know that
the school was in session.
“Nobody notified these people that the
girls were having an examination in the school. Even the principal
admitted in her statement that the soldiers were not notified.
“They were told that their camp was
about to be attacked so they went out to lay in ambush for insurgents.
One of the soldiers died.
“But I can confirm to you that the Army has concluded preparations to arraign them.”
The abduction of the schoolgirls sparked
global outrage with world leaders calling on the terrorist group and
the Federal Government to ensure their safe release.PUNCH
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