Wadume: Soldiers May Face Court Martial

• Police personnel to face orderly room trial, dismissal
• APC denies giving N13m to Wadume to prosecute 2019 elections

Kingsley Nwezeh and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

There are strong indications that soldiers involved in the killing of policemen in Taraba State may face court-martial.
THISDAY gathered that the panel which sat in Taraba and Abuja had rounded off its sitting, preparatory to submitting report to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin.

A source close to the panel said the panel would recommend disciplinary and punitive measures including dismissal and court-martial in the case of indicted military personnel.

“The panel has concluded work, having sat in Taraba and Abuja. It has also received and analysed submissions.
“Presently, it is compiling witness and video evidence preparatory to submission to the Chief of Defence Staff”, the source said.
THISDAY further gathered that the panel had recommended the dismissal of all indicted personnel of both agencies who would subsequently face court-martial in the case of the army and orderly room trial and dismissal in the case of the police.

The panel had received submissions from witnesses including police and military personnel, civilian witnesses within the area where the shooting took place.

The panel also interviewed the kidnap kingpin, at the center of the shooting, Alhaji Bala Wadume, who was set free by soldiers of the 93 Battalion, Takum, Taraba State after shooting three policemen and two civilians leading him to the Taraba State Police Command in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.

The soldiers had after killing the policemen, set Wadume free but he was later rearrested by police in Kano State.
The killing had triggered public outrage and deep mistrust between the Police and Nigerian Army, forcing the two security agencies to engage in a war of words leading to the setting up of the Rear Admiral IT Olaiya-led panel which sat for more than two weeks.

APC Denies Giving N13m to Wadume to Prosecute 2019 Elections

In a related development, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied giving a sum of N13 million to suspected kidnap kingpin, Alhaji Hamisu Balla, also known as Wadume during the 2019 elections. The ruling party denied Wadume’s claims in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu SATURday.

Wadume had been in the middle of the raging storm between the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police over the murder of three police operatives and two civilians by soldiers in Ibi town, Taraba state.

Wadume, who is presently in police custody had told a national daily that he ‘got N6m from a sitting governor and N13m from APC.’
According to him, I was also given N13 million by the APC to prosecute the 2019 presidential election but I spent only seven million. I also defrauded a civil servant from Ibi of N30million.

In its statement, however, the party said it was expected that the alleged kidnapper, having come face to face with justice, would throw whatever he could lay his hands on into the fray.

It stated: “In any case, our party did not have budget for thugs. Unlike the period when the ruling party dipped hands into the public treasury to fund political campaigns and elections, APC had to rely on its own resources.
“Even if we had all the money, we would never allocate money for kidnappers and murderers. That era ended with PDP. Perhaps, he can name whoever gave him money.

“Definitely, it was not APC. From his purported confession, he claimed to be a PDP member before he went on to contest under another party.”