The Nigerian Army 7 Division General Court Martial has sentenced one of its personnel, Private Musa Saleh, to death by hanging for attempting to kill his fellow soldier in Mafa Town, Borno State.
The court martial also said it established that the soldier attached to 112 Task Force Battalion in Mafa, also killed five innocent people, caused bodily injuries and left others with permanent disability.
Brigadier General Richard Pam, who presided over the court martial, said that the officer had pled not guilty to the four counts of accusations that bordered on attempted murder, assault, and murder.
According to Brig.-Gen. Pam, the court transferred the burden of proving charges to the prosecution attorney as a result of the pleas.
He stated that in order to prove the charges, the prosecution’s attorney called six witnesses and provided eleven exhibits, while the defense’s attorney only called the accused soldier as a witness and provided one exhibit.
The court martial determined that there had been a clear violation of codified laws after carefully examining the evidence presented to it, according to the senior military officer. The court then rendered its verdict.
He stated, “The sentence of this General Court called Martial against you is as follows: Count one, the sentence is death by hanging, Count two, the sentencing is 24 months’ imprisonment, Count three, the sentence is 24 months’ imprisonment, and Count four, the sentence is life imprisonment.
“The matter between the Nigerian Army and Private Musa Saleh has come to an end,” defence attorney Habib Kabura Batuncha said in a statement to the media. “I think we will put our hands in order and do the necessary at the right time.”
According to the President of the Court Martial, the decision must still be approved by the appropriate authorities, and the convicted person has three months to file an appeal. This is according to Daily Trust.
