Army 38: All Eyes on Fagbemi to Act

Having exhausted their pleas for the Nigerian Army to obey the judgments of the courts, ordering it to reinstate the 38 senior officers it unjustly retired in 2016, stakeholders have urged the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), as the nation’s chief law officer, to mandate the authorities of the Nigerian Army to comply with the courts’ decisions, Vanessa Obioha writes

Penultimate Saturday marked the 161st celebration of the Nigerian Army. Tagged ‘the Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL)’, the event was marked with pomp and ceremony in Jos, the bustling city capital of Plateau State.

The Nigerian Army under the astute leadership of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja showcased its latest military hardware.

The pick of bunch was the helicopter flight conducted by the two helicopters acquired recently and the latest addition to the army’s inventory which signalled the launch of the Army Aviation wing.

The celebrations ended with the army chief assuring his personnel of his commitment to their welfare and administration while protecting the nation.

While many observers have hailed General Lagbaja for prioritising troops’ welfare and for his commitment to the rule of law and due process since becoming Army chief, they however have reservations for the tenure of Lt. General Tukur Buratai (rtd) as Chief of Staff where injustice, lack of fair hearing and impunity reigned supreme.

An example of Lagbaja ‘s respect for due process and rule of law was the recent speedy trial and conviction of the former Group Managing Director of the Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Maj. Gen. Umaru Mohammed. 

Mohammed’s trial ensured that no one was left in doubt of the offences committed by the now convicted senior officer.

At the end of the Special Court-martial sitting in Abuja, it sentenced General Mohammed to seven years imprisonment. The court also ordered him to pay back $2,178,900 and N1.65 billion to the Army and NAPL.

Mohammed was tried on 18-count charge. The charges included stealing, forgery, conspiracy, theft, misappropriation of funds, and unauthorised diversion of Army property, among others. 

In view of his respect for due process, stakeholders specifically urged Lagbaja to revisit the compulsory and unjust retirement of the 38 senior Army officers who were eased out of service in 2016 to give the officers and men confidence in the service.

In 2016, the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Buratai, forced out of service, 38 senior army officers without recourse to due process, fair hearing and rules of disengagement in the Nigerian military.

Most of the affected officers, who are still young and have a lot to offer Nigeria, were neither queried nor indicted by any panel or charged before any court-martial.

They were flushed out for reasons that smacked of high-level disregard for law and witch-hunting by authorities of the army.

The 38 officers subsequently petitioned the then President Muhammadu Buhari in line with the military’s rules to seek redress. But even after petitioning the president, their fates still hang in the balance.

Having lost confidence in the ability of the military authorities to give them justice, several of the officers approached the National Industrial Court (NIC) to clear their names and rebuild their careers.  As of last count, the Army had lost all the cases as it could not provide any shred of evidence to substantiate the false accusations against the officers.

But despite the various courts’ judgments, the Nigerian Army and former President Buhari refused to reinstate the soldiers, who are some of the country’s brightest in internal and external security operations. One of the officers, Ojebo Ochankpa, died in 2017 while awaiting justice, leaving a widow and three children. 

A security expert, Labaran Saleh, regretted that the stories of the personnel “remain a cautionary tale for the country.” He decried that none of them faced any formal charge issued to them, or a court-martial panel before their dismissal.

Saleh said the Armed Forces Act prescribes steps to be taken in punishing offences but doesn’t empower the Army Council to arbitrarily punish or retire officers. He warned that if the 38 officers do not receive justice, “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 impact on the effectiveness, cohesion, and dedication of the Army is best imagined.”

“Why will the Nigerian Army not obey court orders? Are they above the law?” Saleh queried.

In his Democracy Day address, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had reportedly said: “Democracy is about the rule of law and a vibrant judiciary that can be trusted to deliver justice and strengthen institutions.” 

Also, the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had stated that this government would obey the rule of law and ensure justice and fairness to all.

On July 27, 2023, one of the affected officers, Lt. Col. Abdulfatai Mohammed submitted a letter to Tinubu’s office, urging the president to prevail on the army to obey the court orders that declared his retirement illegal. Mohammed said he wrote the letter based on the “avowed commitment to justice” the president indicated in his “inauguration speech.”

His letter revealed a harrowing tale of woes, pains, hardship, difficulties, and injustices he and his colleagues had experienced. It displayed particularly the insensitivity and indifference of the Nigerian Army to the plight of him and others.

Mohammed is one of several officers who went to the NIC to clear his name. Others who obtained judgments ordering their reinstatement include Generals Ijioma and Saad, Colonels Hassan, Suleiman, Arigbe, Dazang and AS Mohammed.

Stakeholders have argued that the Army 38 is a litmus test for this administration to enshrine the rule of law and justice in the military by ensuring the Nigerian Army complies with the valid and subsisting court orders.

Labaran noted that the Army has a history of revisiting wrongful retirements and correcting them by reinstating the affected officers. He cited the case of Major General Ahmadu Mohammed who was reinstated in January 2016 after being compulsorily retired.

General Mohammed was the General Officer Commanding 7 Division in 2014 when his troops mutinied and fired at his vehicle. The soldiers accused him of dereliction of duty and sending them to the battlefield with minimal logistics support thereby leading to many deaths. Most of those soldiers were court-martialed and sentenced to death. Similarly, Amnesty International accused General Mohammed of ordering the deaths of many Boko Haram prisoners at the Maimalari Barracks and indicted him in their report forwarded to the federal government. 

However, in January 2016, the Nigerian Army recalled and reinstated him. In a press release the Army spokesman at the time, Brig Gen SK Usman, said: “Although, it is not an aberration for the international human rights body to raise such an observation, however, it did not take into cognisance the circumstances leading to his illegal retirement and the legal procedure that was followed in his reinstatement. The compulsory and premature retirement of Major General Mohammed did not follow due process and was rather arbitrary. The senior officer was never charged, tried, let alone found guilty of any offence that justified his premature retirement.

“The action was therefore a clear violation of extant rules, regulations, as well as Terms and Conditions of Service of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. This obvious violation prompted the senior officer to seek redress using the appropriate legal means. Consequently, the realisation of these omissions called for a review of the case by the Army Council and his subsequent reinstatement into the service.” 

Saleh noted that Mohammed’s case set a precedent that should be applied in the case of Army 38.

 A retired senior officer pleading anonymity said: “For me, it feels like a case of cheating. You see these young men have had their careers stolen from them. No one should ever be made to feel that way, it leaves a sour taste and that is unfair.” 

With the Army exhausting its appeal on the judgments in favour of the officers, stakeholders have urged the Chief Fagbemi, in his capacity as the chief law officer of the country and the Minister of Defence to compel the Army to comply with the decisions in the interest of justice and fairness.

 “The AGF equally needs to let the Army know that it is ridiculing the courts by not obeying its decisions, and this is sending a dangerous message across. He also needs to collaborate with the Minister of Defence on this matter,” said one of the analysts.