Court-martial defies CDS directive, Ransome-Kuti’s trial continues today

Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Tukur Buratai

The General Court Martial sitting in Abuja, where a former Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, Brig.-Gen. Enitan Ransome-Kuti, and others are being prosecuted for various military offences will continue with the trial of the alleged offenders on Wednesday (today).

The continuation of the trial is against the directive of the new Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, for the immediate dissolution of the military courts across the country.

The prosecution had on Tuesday concluded their case against Ransome-Kuti after calling all their witnesses and the court had adjourned proceedings till Wednesday for the defence to open its case.

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Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, who is the lead counsel for Ransome-Kuti and some already convicted soldiers as well as others still facing trial, had said on August 2 that he had confirmed the dissolution of the courts-martial from Buratai.

All soldiers facing various offences before the court-martial, it was learnt, had been asked to report at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, on August 17 for the review of their cases.

But our correspondent learnt that the trial of Ransome-Kuti before the court-martial in Abuja would continue irrespective of the CDS directive.

It was learnt that a lawyer, Maj. Femi Oyebanji, who held the brief for Falana, had urged the Maj.Gen. O.E. Ekanem-led panel to close down the court on the strength of the directive by the new CDS.

But the panel was said to have replied that it had not received such instruction from the army authorities.

Falana confirmed to our correspondent on Tuesday that the trial had continued despite the new CDS directive.

“The trial continues. But I must say that the directive is not clear and the army must endeavour to make the directive clear to those presiding over the courts-martial,” Falana said.

Falana, in a statement on August 2, 2015, had commended the Federal Government and the military for their decision to disband the courts-martial, where he argued that soldiers were being unjustly prosecuted for alleged offences arising from their being poorly equipped.

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Falana had said, “I have confirmed from the Chief of Army Staff that the courts-martial have been disbanded while the cases of convicted soldiers would be reviewed.

“A committee has already been set up to inquire into the case of dismissed soldiers.

As counsel for some of the soldiers, I wish to thank the Federal Government and the military authorities for putting an end to the desperate move of Marshal Felix Badeh, former CDS, and co to execute soldiers who refused to commit suicide.”

The prosecution had on Tuesday concluded its case against Ransome-Kuti after calling witnesses, with the court adjourning till Wednesday for the defence to open its case.

But it was learnt that the defence was set to apply for a no-case submission on the grounds that the evidence tendered by the prosecution failed to link the accused to the commission of the alleged offences.

The Nigerian Army had on June 29 arraigned Ransome-Kuti and four other top officers for various military offences, which they allegedly were committed during an attack by Boko Haram on Baga, Borno State, in January 2015.

The accused were arraigned before a GCM sitting at Abacha Barracks in Abuja on three counts of cowardly behaviour, failure to perform military duties and miscellaneous offences relating to loss of the army’s armament.

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Other accused persons in the charge sheet, obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, are Col. O.C. Ajunwa, Lt.-Col. A Haruna, Lt.-Col. G.A. Suru and Maj. A.A. Malgwi.

They allegedly committed the offences at the headquarters of the Multi-National Joint Task Force in Baga, Borno State, when the location was overrun by the Boko Haram terrorists on January 3, 2015.

The command centre of the MNJTF was recently relocated to Ndjamena, the capital of neighbouring Republic of Chad.

Only Ransome-Kuti’s name appears in all the three charges signed by Maj. B.T. Ndiomu on March 25, 2015.

While all the five accused persons will face the first count of cowardly behaviour, the second count of failure to perform military duties was levelled against Ransome-Kuti, Ajunwa and Suru.

Ransome-Kuti is the only one that will face the third count of loss of army’s property.

The army accused him of losing property of the Nigerian Army entrusted into his care.

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The armament, which he could not account for, according to the army authorities, comprises three multipurpose light-armoured towing vehicles (MTLB in Russian), three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two pan herd, three Sagie, one VBL armoured vehicle, eight General Purpose Machine Guns, eight Browning Machine Guns, two trucks, 12 Hilux vehicle and large quantity of ammunition.

The third count read, “In that you, Brig.-Gen. E.A. Ransome-Kuti at HQ Multi-National Joint Task Force Baga in Borno State lost Nigerian Army armaments comprising: 3 × MTBLs, 4 × 105mm PH guns, 3 ×RPG launchers, 2 x Sagie, 1 x VBL, 8 x BMGs, 2 x trucks, 12 Hilux and large quantity of ammunition, being property of Nigeria Army entrusted to your care.”

By the “miscellaneous offence relating to property,” Ransome-Kuti was said to have contravened Section 68 (1) (a) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap 20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The five officers were accused in the first count of exhibiting “cowardly behaviour by abandoning your duty post at the MNJTF headquarters where it was your duty to protect when the Boko Haram terrorists attacked” on January 3, 2015.

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This alleged behaviour was said to have contravened section 47(1)(a) of the Armed Forces Act and punishable under 47(3) of the same law.

In the second count, the trio of Ransome-Kuti, Ajunwa and Suru, were said to have contravened section 62(b) of the Armed Forces Act “by failing to coordinate troops and assets of HQ MNJTF to repel the Boko Haram terrorists attack of the HQ MNJTF” on January 3, 2015