126 Nigerian soldiers seek justice

About 126 soldiers who were dismissed from the Nigerian Army after an engagement with the Boko Haram terrorist sect in Bazza, Adamawa State in October 2014, have instituted a legal battle to be compensated for what they said was a wrongful dismissal.

The soldiers who are among 255 sacked on January 13 and 14, 2015, military authorities for alleged “disobedience to standing order and failure to perform military duties”, have sued the Army for alleged wrongful dismissal.

They soldiers, who filed the suit, with number NICN/ABJ/92/2015, before the National Industrial Court sitting in Abu‎ja said they were sacked through oral communication on.

The case is before the President of the National Industrial Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo.

Many of the 126 soldiers were enlisted in the Army in 1979 while others joined between then and 2013.

The plaintiffs comprising four Warrant Officers, ‎and others in the ranks of Sergeants, Corporal, Lance Corporal, and Private, were part of the joint force code-named ‘OP Zaman Lafia,’ pooled together from different Divisions and Batallion of the Nigerian Army to combat Boko Haram in the North East.

According to the plaintiffs, their dismissal was communicated to them orally at their station by ‎Lt-Col. M.J Gambo on January 13, 2015, and by the Garrison Commander, Gen. B.O Akinroluoyo the following day.

The Army claimed that the plaintiffs failed to obey their Commanding Officer, Lt-Col. A. A Egbejule, during a counter-attack by Boko Haram in Bazza, a development which allegedly led to the recapture of the territory by the terrorists.

But a lawyer in the law firm Femi Falana, Deji Morakinyo, argued in statement of facts accompanying the suit that the soldiers were denied “inviolable opportunity to be heard and make representation in defence and to state their respective cases.”

Morakinyo said the‎ soldiers had only retreated on the order of their Commanding Officer for “tactical withdrawal” after the terrorists regrouped and overwhelmed them with “AA anti-craft guns, APCS, RPGs, GPMGs, and other ‎sophisticated and superior weapons.

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“The claimants particularly aver that due to the insurgents’ counter-attack, and the re-capture of Bazza from the personnel of the defendant (the Nigerian Army), their Commanding Officer, Lt.-Col. A.A Egbejule, in line with military tradition, ordered tactical withdrawal by the Joint Force so as to re-strategise.

“The claimants further and particularly aver that consistent with military tradition, the Joint Force had to comply with the superior order of their Commanding Officer, hence they withdrew as ordered by their Commanding Officer.”

‎They therefore want the court to order among other prayers, declare their sacking on the basis of failure to perform military duties and disobedience to standing order as “unconstitutional, illegal, irregular and ultra-vires.”

They also want the court to order the Army to pay them their accrued salaries and other entitlements since they were sacked in January, N1m to each of them for breach of fundamental right to fair hearing and freedom from discrimination, as well as N5m as the cost for prosecuting the suit.

But the Army through its notice of preliminary objection, filed by its lawyer, Commander A.A Abu, insisted that the plaintiffs were duly sacked and thus asked the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction.

Agu argued, “The claimants were summarily tried, convicted and dismissed from service, thus this honourable court lacks requisite jurisdiction to hear and entertain the suit as constituted and conceived.

“This honourable court cannot sit on appeal on the summary trial of the claimant pursuant to sections 155, 125 and 179 of the Armed Forces Act.”

The case has been adjourned till October 19 for hearing.

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