The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, to urgently process the unpaid entitlements of 54 soldiers granted presidential pardon in May 2022.
The soldiers, who were convicted in 2014 for demanding better weaponry to confront Boko Haram insurgents, have faced years of hardship alongside their families due to the prolonged delay.
In a statement issued on Monday, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, detailed the suffering endured by the soldiers and their loved ones.
According to him, the delay has left their families in severe distress, with many children unable to attend school and marriages crumbling under financial strain.
The statement said: “It will be recalled that 54 soldiers of the Nigerian Army were sentenced to death on 17th December, 2014 for demanding better weapons to confront Boko Haram insurgents (https://thenationonlineng.net/mutiny-54-soldiers-face-firing-squad-five-freed/; https://www.voanews.com/a/nigerian-soldiers-sentenced-death-mutiny/2563715.html).
“Their death sentence was later commuted to ten years imprisonment on 19th December, 2015 (https://thestreetjournal.org/army-commute-death-sentences-on-66-officers-to-imprisonment/).
“The soldiers regained freedom seven years later on 17th August, 2021 (https://saharareporters.com/2021/08/17/54-nigerian-soldiers-jailed-demanding-better-arms-regain-freedom-after-seven-years) and they were granted presidential pardon on 11th May, 2022 (https://theeagleonline.com.ng/muric-thanks-buhari-for-granting-pardon-to-54-soldiers/).
“First and foremost, MURIC wishes to appreciate the Nigerian Army for following due process throughout the travails of the 54 soldiers. It marks the institution out for diligence, decorum and adherence to professionalism.
“However, it is our wish to bring the sufferings of the 54 soldiers and members of their families to the attention of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede. It has been tales of woe for all of them.
“Their children have dropped out of school. Many of their matrimonial homes have scattered. Their octogenarian parents no longer cry: they just stare into the emptiness that the world has become for them. Nigeria’s current economic doldrum has worsened the situation for them. At least one of the soldiers has gone completely blind while the rest have been reduced to walking corpses and living dead.
“It is on this compassionate ground that we appeal to the COAS to show mercy to the 54 soldiers by approving the payment of their entitlements without further delay. Hearkening to this appeal will prove to Nigerians that the Nigerian Army has a truly human face. Young Nigerians will rush forward to join the army and parents will feel no qualms encouraging their children and wards to don the army garb with pride.”
