No fewer than 3,040 gallant soldiers have been dismissed from the Nigerian Army over various acts of misconduct which include rape.
Naija News reports that names and crime committed by each of the personnel were revealed in a 90-page document titled, ‘List of soldiers dismissed from the Nigerian Army,’ made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
The acts of misconducts by the soldiers as contained in the document, include indiscipline, desertion, possession of hard drugs, rape and murder. Also, some of the soldiers were discharged for cowardice, forgery, drunkenness, poor performance, disobedience to orders, absence from duty/parade and failure to perform military duty.
The document also revealed that scores were axed for Bank Verification Number issues, vetting problems, insubordination, civil offence, extortion, defilement and conduct prejudicial to service. Others were dismissed for conspiracy, ‘misfire,’ stealing, impersonation, attempted rape, assault, unlawful release of prisoners and cheating.
Naija News understands that over a thousand soldiers were as well discharged for AWOL (Away Without Leave), while hundreds of others were sacked for desertion. The dismissal period was, however, is not contained in the document
“More than 20 others were equally dismissed for having foreign spouses, pregnancy without marriage, attempting to have sex with a colleague’s wife, hiding from the enemy, attending civilian burials in military uniforms, negligence, loss of ammunition, theft of rifles, sleeping on sentry duty, travelling without a pass, among other things,” the document has it.
Some of the officer’s names and crime were revealed as follows: “Sgt. Abdullahi Usman was dismissed for going away without leave, Samson Tart was sacked for attempted rape, L/Corporals Thlama Jaduwa and Ujah Stephen were relieved for illegal duty and indiscipline respectively.
“L/Cpl Nande Samson and Cpl Julius Abiodun were sacked for five-day absence and disobedience to order, respectively, while Akaa Abani and Daniel Timothy, both privates, were discharged for possession of Indian hemp.
“Also on the list were L/Cpl Kareem Umoru dismissed for accidental discharge, L/Cpl Ofodile Chuka (misconduct); Abdullahi Danladi (extortion); L/Cpl Doris Ozah (disobedience to standing order); Cpl Taofeek Alagbala (AWOL); Pte Alexander Goji (forgery) Danladi Yusuf (unlawful release of prisoner).
The military authorities also discharged Ptes Kingsley Obumneke and James Joseph for misfiring, Ishiali Franklin and Cpl Abdullahi Mohammed were sacked for failure to perform military duty, L/Cpl Romade Olumide (desertion), Friday Olorunaye (double pay in a month); Pte Mohammed Abubakar (aiding and abetting). Pte Danlamin Garba was discharged for disgraceful conduct while Mohammed Ibrahim and Aliyu Dangaladima were dismissed for stealing.
“Pte Ankpande Simeon was disengaged for attempted murder while Samson Hagai, Ibrahim Magaji, Echeji Abraham, Bashiru Bello, Kole Lawal, James Jeremiah, Ameh Ameh, Aliyu Abdullahi, Ilya James and Ado Ali were dismissed for drunkenness.
“The authorities also sacked Ipinyomi Emmanuel, a private, and James Itodo, for siphoning fuel from an Armoured Personnel Carrier. Bassey Asinya was discharged for murder, Adeosun Kazeem sacked for manslaughter while Alisabatu Tanko was dismissed for getting pregnant out of wedlock.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence, Bashir Salihi-Magashi has defended the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff, Naija News reports.
According to the Minister, Buhari didn’t consider ethnic or religious factors but only national interest in choosing the new Army chief.
The article was originally published on Nigeria News