The General Court Martial issued its decision at Headquarters 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu to execute Private Adamu Mohammed by hanging and assign Private Abubakar Yusuf to 10 years imprisonment.
The soldiers received their punishments from a court-martial following through with their rulings for murder and robbery offenses.
The information about these sentences came from 82 Division spokesman Lt. Colonel Jonah Unuakhalu through his statement.
Major General Oluyemi Olatoye inaugurated the GCM as its 11-member body on February 18th to handle criminal cases of military personnel throughout 82 Division without summary proceedings.
The President of GCM Brigadier General Sadisu Buhari issued a verdict following a trial of the first accused Private Adamu Mohammed who received punishment for killing his girlfriend, Miss Hauwa Ali which violated Section 106 (a) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004.
The GCM panel reached a unanimous verdict through three fundamental stages of evaluation comprising the GCM facts as experienced by the members and full review of the soldier’s record plus counsel’s petition for mercy. For the sake of public decency and to uphold justice toward the deceased person the law needed to be enacted in its totality according to the GCM President.
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Brigadier General Sadisu declared during his statement that the court has sentenced private Adamu Mohammed to death by hanging because of the murder charge.
In simultaneous proceedings the General Court Martial issued ten-year imprisonment to Private Yusuf for theft violations at Enugu mall.
The GCM President declared Private Yusuf responsible for robbery which Section 107(1)(b) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004 identified as an offense. While the court examined the defense strategy for leniency presented by the accused along with his counsel they applied the law to defend public order standards while safeguarding military reputation.
The GCMs failed to secure unanimous support for the maximum allowed punishment in section 107(2) of the Armed Forces Act hence they imposed a ten-year prison term on Private Abubakar Yusuf according to section 140(3) of the Armed Forces Act based on their deliberations revealed Brigadier General Sadisu Buhari to the public.
The President of GCM acknowledged the findings along with sentencing decisions for both soldiers will need confirming authority approval to finalize their court proceedings.
The Nigerian Army ensures the general public that it continues its dedicated service with absolute adherence to professional conduct standards of ethical practices. Despite the few deviant actions which do not align with institutional principles the institution immediately deals with the situation through decisive measures to uphold justice.
The Army continues its commitment to keep order in its forces and safeguard mission integrity through ethical standards for justified public trust and service.
