The Nigerian Army has explained why one of its soldiers of Northern extraction facing murder charges before a Court Martial in 82 Division, Enugu, was set free by the Court Martial.
SaharaReporters had reported that multiple military sources confirmed that two soldiers who were being court-martialled in the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army for murder were freed and re-absorbed into service.
The two soldiers said to be of Northern extraction were identified as Pte Usman Shonva and one Audu.
While Shonva allegedly shot and killed one of his coursemates in Ohoafia, Abia State, in 2022, Audu was accused of killing a Togolese national and one other person in Anambra State.
In October 2023, the army authorities had said twenty-five soldiers and an officer were being court-martialled in the 82 Division for various offences.
But in a statement issued on Saturday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, he said that the decision of the Court Martial was collective and based on evidence presented during the trial.
“It is exigent to note that the President of the Court Martial is of northern extraction, while the Judge Advocate is from the South.
“Additionally, 60 percent of the Court Martial members are of Southern extraction, demonstrating a fair and balanced representation, even though religion and ethnicity are not major focal criteria in the decision making process of the NA.
“The decision of a Court Martial is collective and based on evidence presented during the trial. The said Court Martial tried the personnel, irrespective of their ethnic and religious affiliations, and the outcome was determined strictly based on the evidence presented.
“In espousing the position of the NA in the cases mentioned in the report, taking that of Pte Usman Shonva for instance, wherein evidence revealed that there were other soldiers at the scene of the incident, who also fired their weapons, hence, the court, based on this finding among others, reached the conclusion that the shot that killed the dead soldier could have been fired by any of the soldiers at the scene, thus, leading to his discharge and acquittal.
“It must be emphasised that the NA does not task its personnel (including for court martial membership) on a regional basis in order to achieve “national spread.”
“The NA is a composite national institution and not an ethnic militia. The court martial proceedings were conducted in a fair and unbiased manner.”
