579 soldiers facing trial in two courts martial

The Nigerian Army is prosecuting a total of 579 officers and soldiers for offences bordering on professional misconduct and indiscipline in the Armed Forces.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, who made the comment during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, did not disclose how many of the Army personnel were of the officers cadre and those who belonged to the rank and file.

Usman said the Army personnel were being tried in two existing Courts Martial of the Nigerian Army at the Army Headquarters Garrison, the Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja, and  the headquarters of the 81 Division in Lagos.

“There are currently two ongoing Courts Martial going on in the Army Headquarters Garrison, and 81 Division, Nigerian Army, with a view to ensuring quick dispensation of justice, discipline and professionalism.

Usman added, “In all, 473 suspects are to be tried here at the Army Headquarters Garrison and 106 at the 81 Division.

“The trials have to do with the emphasis on discipline and professionalism in the Army.”

Usman stated that the authorities of the Nigerian Army were taking very seriously the suggestion by the Borno State Governor, Kassim Shettima, that the Chibok girls might be in bunkers in the Sambisa Forest.

He said the suggestion of the Borno State Government was in line with the call of the security agencies for relevant information and support from the members of the pubic, not just on the Chibok girls but also on the ongoing campaign against insurgency in the North-East.

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Shettima had suggested that the over 200 girls, who were abducted by the Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in April 2014, might be held in underground cells by their captors, urging the military to go after the insurgents during a paper presentation on his behalf by the Chairman of the Borno Elders Forum, Bulama Gubio, in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Army spokesman also called on Nigerians to be security conscious as the Boko Haram had deployed underage ladies to carry out suicide bomb attacks..