Skip to main content
4 Army Officers jailed 10 years for torturing corporal to death


A General Court Martial in Abuja on Friday sentenced Majors Akeem Oseni, Ogbemudia Osawe, Captain S. Amosu and Second Lieutenant Nuhu Dogary to 10 years in prison for torturing L/Corporal Benjamin Collins to death.

The officers were said to have moved Collins from a guardroom at Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja, where he was being held to a bush near Ihejirika quarters along Abuja-Nyanya expressway where he was said to have been assaulted while in handcuffs and leg chains.

Collins, who hailed from Rivers State, died after the assault which took place on February 23, 2017 and his corpse was deposited at Asokoro general hospital mortuary.

After the incident, the convicts were said to have reported to their superiors that Collins had escaped from custody.

He was said to have been detained for over two years for allegedly travelling to Lagos to see his sick aunt without official permission.

The officers were found guilty of manslaughter by the GMC, which was comprised of the President, Brigs. Gen. G. Umelo; S. Aliyu, A. Edet, Brig. N. Mohammed, Cols. K. Ndamadu, T. Agbor, and I. Tanko.

The prosecution team included Major John Orumor, Capts, P. Ogbuiya, David Ighodaro and Lt. T. Azi, while the Judge advocate was Daniel Ehicheoya.

The convicts were defended by Majors Femi Oyebanji, Mike Kwekwenbo (retd.) and Isa Shuaibu.

The judgment, it was gathered, was subject to confirmation by the Army Council headed by the Minister of Defence.

Our correspondent learnt that the four officers had been moved to a cell following their conviction.

Investigations by our correspondent indicated that the military probe into Collins’ death and the subsequent trial of the convicts were motivated by a petition from the deceased’s lawyer, Johnson Oyewole of Delu Consulting Firm.

Collins, who enlisted in the Army in 2011, had contacted Oyewole after he was arrested in Lagos for the alleged offence of absence without leave and detained at 81 Division Garrison Provost cell, Obalende, from March 2014 till June 2016.

He was subsequently moved to Army headquarters garrison, Abuja, on January 27, 2017 where he was further held in leg chains in the cell at Mogadishu cantonment.


Source: Punch

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Abuja Bank Robbery: Police Arrest Alleged Mastermind source: Channels The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested the mastermind of the foiled robbery of a first-generation ba nk in the Mpape area of Abuja last Saturday. The suspect, a barman identified as Ernest was nabbed at his hideout by police detectives and is presently being held at the command headquarters by old CBN building, Garki, Abuja. The police had earlier arrested four suspects and gunned down the fourth member of the robbery gang identified as Patrick during the operation. The FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma, had on Tuesday paraded the gang members including a bank employee, Larry Ehizo, 30, Timothy Joe, 21, Princewill Obinna, 24 and Elijah David, 19. Ehizo who allegedly drove the gang members to the bank claimed he was blackmailed by Ernest to carry out the heist. Narrating how the failed heist was executed, David said Ehizo informed the gang members that the r...
Nigerian senator dies in UK A senator representing Cross River North, Rose Oko, is dead. The 63-year-old senator died on Monday night at a United Kingdom (UK) medical facility where she had been receiving treatment in the last one month. Oko was a member of the House of Representatives representing Yala/Ogoja Federal Constituency during the 7th National Assembly. Senator Oko was elected into office as the first female representative from her constituency in June 2011, and is currently in her second-term member of the upper chamber and served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment. Her death comes about six weeks after Plateau senator, Ignatius Longjan, passed on and three months after Imo senator, Ben Uwajumogwu, died.

ECOWAS Parliament bemoan low remittance of Community Levy

ECOWAS Parliament bemoan low remittance of Community Levy The Legislative arm of the Economic Community Of West African State (ECOWAS Parliament) has lamented low remittance of Community Levy by member states. Speaker of The ECOWAS Parliament, Rt Hon Sidie Mohammed Tunis said the levy is meant to mobilize the funds required for the accomplishment of the missions of the parliament and other ECOWAS Institutions. He explained that the 0.5% levy, imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS Member States, is intended to cater for around 80% of the Community’s budget revenue. Speaker Tunis expressed his displeasure on Tuesday in Freetown, during the ECOWAS Parliament’s Seminar with the theme, "Involvement of Members of the ECOWAS Parliament in Monitoring the application of the Protocol relating to the Community Levy”. He said: "The theme to which we are invited today, as you have noted, hinges on the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Community Levy. "In this regard...