It has been four years since the Nigerian Army retired 38 of its topmost officers who were instrumental in the fight against Boko Haram under controversial circumstances.
The concerned officers, who have since then secured six court victories, said they feel betrayed by the system, as, apart from the unjustifiable termination of their career, their families have been traumatised by the experience and what was done to them has destroyed moral within the force.
Regrettably, one of the ‘Army 38’, Lt Colonel Baba – Ochankpa passed on in January 2017.
“Since June 9, 2016, when the Army 38 were illegally granted compulsory retirement on wild allegations, they have successfully proved their innocence before the courts and the National Assembly. They have clearly shown that the punishment meted out to them were arbitrary and without any factual basis. Yet the Army leadership still refuses to review its controversial decision, despite various decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction, a decision of the Nigerian Senate and the motion by the House of Representatives, all requesting the Nigerian Army to reverse its unlawful, unfair and ill-advised actions,” a source within the army said.
Speaking on the number of court orders flouted since the eyebrow-raising dismissal, a concerned security expert, Labaran Saleh, who has been following the case, warned that the ‘jungle dismissal’ of the ‘Army 38’ remains a cautionary tale for the country.
“Records have shown that none of the Army 38 faced any formal charge issued to them nor did they face a court-martial panel before June 9, 2016. The Armed Forces Act prescribes steps to be taken in punishing offences, and a review shows no section empowers the Army Council to arbitrarily punish or compulsorily retire officers for any offence.”
“While it has been clear that the trio of Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukuru Buratai and erstwhile Minister of Defence Dan Alli, have not taken concrete steps to address the plight and the unlawful punishments against the innocent, there must be justice from the Commander-in-Chief. If the Army 38 do not receive justice and fairness, the direct and proximate result is the destruction of the morale of those still in service, with the resulting impact on efficiency and commitment. The long-term impact on the effectiveness, cohesion and dedication of the Army is best imagined.”
Back in 2015, the then Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR) Sani Usman, in a statement, announced the compulsory retirement of 38 officers on the grounds that they were involved in “professional misconduct” during the 2015 general elections and a “$2.1 billion arms procurement scandal”.
In all, 9 major-generals, 10 brigadiers, 7 colonels, 11 lieutenant colonels and one major were axed.
The retirement generated controversies because about 80 percent of those whose careers were cut short were mostly Southerners, with 10 generals/senior officers hailing from Rivers State alone, vis: Major-Generals F. O. Alli, E.J. Atewe, I. N. Ijoma, L. C. Ilo, TC Ude, L. Wiwa, SD Aliyu, M.Y Ibrahim, and O. Ejemai; Brigadier-Generals D. M. Onoyeiveta, A. S. O. Mormoni-Bashir, A.S.H Sa’ad, A. I. Onibasa, D. Abdusalam, L.M. Bello, KA Essien, B. A. Fiboinumama, I. M. Lawson and G.O. Agachi; Colonels M.A. Suleiman, P. E. Ekpenyong, T. T. Minimah, O. U. Nwankwo, F. D. Kayode, CK Ukoha and DR Hassan; Lieutenant Colonels C. O. Amadi, K. O. Adimoha, T. E. Arigbe, O. A. Baba- Ochankpa, D. B. Dazang, O. C. Egemole, C. Enemchukwu, A. Mohammed, A. S. Mohammed, G. C. Nyekwu, T. O. Oladuntoye. The only major among the 38 was T. A. Williams.
While the group has written to the army leadership, the Presidency and President Muhammadu Buhari (in his case, 22 officers wrote to him through the Chief of Defence Staff and got stony silence), they have met brickwalls on every side, with the National Assembly being the only party willing to listen and follow the matter to a conclusive end.
Some retired and serving officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity stressed that “the Army Council acted outside its powers by retiring the officers as the Council’s power in relation to discipline is limited to only confirming (or otherwise) the judgements awarded by a Court Martial and not empowered to dispense judgement”.
The officers also questioned the validity of the June 9, 2016 letters, written to the affected officers, which hinged their compulsory retirement on “provisions of Paragraph 09.02c (4) of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers 2012 (Revised)”, asserting that the Army 38 committed “serious offences” warranting the punishment. They noted that time has shown that the 2016 statements by the Army Leadership were very far from the truth and misleading.
Also, investigations and findings from the various court rulings revealed that the Army breached its own rules without bringing them before a competent court or panel to determine their guilt, as it has been unable to produce any record from its own archives of any query or indictment by any panel of any of the ‘Army 38’, thereby raising the question of victimisation and arbitrariness.
“These fine officers had their careers abruptly cut short for reasons that smack of high-level arbitrariness, pettiness, witch-hunting and partisanship by authorities of the Army. Essentially, the Army authorities simply played to the gallery,” a senior officer said, adding that “Paragraph 09.02(e) of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers, 2012 (revised) – provides that any officer compulsorily retired or dismissed can appeal to the president through the Chief of Defence Staff within 30 days.”
Similarly, the National Industrial Court, on Tuesday, 14 January 2020, ordered the Nigerian Army to reinstate a senior officer, Abdulfatai Mohammed, having established that the military authorities broke the law in dismissing the officer in 2016. The judge ruled that Mr Mohammed, who was arbitrarily punished while holding the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel, be “reinstated back to the army with his benefits and privileges restored”. Five other affected officers – Maj Gen Ijioma, Col DR Hassan, Col MA Suleiman, Lt Col DB Dazang and Lt Col T Arigbe, also got similar judgements at the National Industrial Court nullifying their retirement and ordering their immediate reinstatement. The Army has not complied with any one of the decisions of the courts.
