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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

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