Eyes on Fagbemi to Give Justice to 38 Army Officers

Last week’s emphasis by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, for justice to be fair and applied without bias, has validated the need for him to deliver justice to the 38 senior officers of the Nigerian Army who were unjustly retired in 2016 by mandating the military authorities to comply with the courts’ decisions on their cases

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), last week, emphasised the need for justice to be fair and applied without bias to retain the credibility of the judicial system.

Speaking at the inauguration of a project titled: ‘Strengthening Right-Based Approach to Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) Framework and Advancing Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Nigeria’ in Abuja, he said that there was the need to strengthen justice delivery, enhance accountability, and ensure protection of citizens’ rights.

The AGF, represented by the Assistant Director, Ministry of Justice, Mr. David Emmanuel, said justice remains central to Nigeria’s judicial system, adding that the Federal Ministry of Justice remained committed to supporting initiatives that promote the rule of law, protect human dignity, and entrench a rights-based approach in governance.

“The project being inaugurated is both timely and strategic as it seeks to advance two critical objectives: The full implementation of the ACJA in 12 states of the federation and the effective operationalisation of the women, peace, and security agenda in five states.

“The Act has already proven to be a transformative legal framework at the federal level, and extending its full application across the states will further deepen respect for human rights, promote spirituality, and reduce the incidence of prolonged detention,” he said.

On his part, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Babatunde Adejumo, noted that justice would lose its credibility when tilted in favour of or against any gender or person.

He stated that upholding gender neutrality in the administration of justice was essential to strengthening the rule of law, ensuring equal rights, and promoting public trust in the judiciary.

He called on judicial officers and other stakeholders to guard against stereotypes or prejudices that might influence legal outcomes, reiterating that justice must be guided strictly by facts, evidence, and the law.

Adejumo also affirmed the judiciary’s commitment to promoting equity, fairness, and impartiality for all citizens, irrespective of gender.

It is common for Nigerian government officials to pontificate and preach what the government does not practice.

Since Fagbemi assumed office in 2023 as the chief law officer of Nigeria, the 38 senior military officers whose careers were truncated by the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai (rtd.) in 2016 have been crying for his attention.

The officers were forced out of service without recourse to due process, fair hearing and rules of disengagement in the Nigerian military.

Most of the affected officers, who are still young and have a lot to offer Nigeria, were neither queried nor indicted by any panel or charged before any court-martial.

They were flushed out for reasons that smacked of high-level disregard for law and witch-hunting by authorities of the army.

The 38 officers subsequently petitioned the then President Muhammadu Buhari in line with the military’s rules to seek redress. But even after petitioning the former president, their fates still hang in the balance.

Having lost confidence in the ability of the military authorities to give them justice, several of the officers approached the National Industrial Court (NIC) to clear their names and rebuild their careers.  As of the last count, the Army had lost all the cases as it could not provide any shred of evidence to substantiate the false accusations against the officers.

But despite the various courts’ judgments, which were all in favour of the officers, the Nigerian Army and former President Buhari refused to reinstate the soldiers, who are some of the country’s brightest in internal and external security operations.

One of the officers, Ojebo Ochankpa, died in 2017 while waiting for justice, leaving a widow and three children. 

A security expert, Labaran Saleh, regretted that the stories of the personnel “remain a cautionary tale for the country.” 

He noted that none of them faced any formal charge issued to them, or a court-martial panel before their dismissal.

Saleh said the Armed Forces Act prescribes steps to be taken in punishing offences but doesn’t empower the Army Council to arbitrarily punish or retire officers. He warned that if the 38 officers do not receive justice, “the direct and proximate result is the destruction of the morale of those still in service, with the resulting impact on efficiency and commitment. The impact on the effectiveness, cohesion, and dedication of the Army is best imagined.”

“Why will the Nigerian Army not obey court orders? Are they above the law?” Saleh queried.

On July 27, 2023, one of the affected officers, Lt. Col. Abdulfatai Mohammed submitted a letter to President Bola Tinubu’s office, urging the president to prevail on the army to obey the court orders that declared his retirement illegal. Mohammed said he wrote the letter based on the “avowed commitment to justice” the president indicated in his “inauguration speech.”

 His letter revealed a harrowing tale of woes, pains, hardship, difficulties, and injustices he and his colleagues had experienced. It displayed, particularly, the insensitivity and indifference of the Nigerian Army to their plight.

Mohammed is one of several officers who went to the NIC to clear his name. Others who obtained judgments ordering their reinstatement include Generals Ijioma and Saad, Colonels Hassan, Suleiman, Arigbe, Dazang and AS Mohammed.

Stakeholders have argued that the case of the 38 officers is a litmus test for this administration’s avowed commitment to the rule of law.

According to them, Tinubu should insist that the military authorities obey the rule of law by ensuring that the Nigerian Army complies with the valid and subsisting court orders

They noted that the Army has a history of revisiting wrongful retirements and correcting them by reinstating the affected officers. 

They cited the case of Major General Ahmadu Mohammed who was reinstated in January 2016 after being compulsorily retired.

General Mohammed was the General Officer Commanding 7 Division in 2014 when his troops mutinied and fired at his vehicle.

 The soldiers accused him of dereliction of duty and sending them to the battlefield with minimal logistics support thereby leading to many deaths. Most of those soldiers were court-martialled and sentenced to death. Similarly, Amnesty International accused General Mohammed of ordering the deaths of many Boko Haram prisoners at the Maimalari Barracks and indicted him in their report forwarded to the federal government. 

However, in January 2016, the Nigerian Army recalled and reinstated him. In a press statement, the Nigerian Army’s spokesman at that time, Brig Gen SK Usman, said: “Although, it is not an aberration for the international human rights body to raise such an observation, however, it did not take into cognisance the circumstances leading to his illegal retirement and the legal procedure that was followed in his reinstatement. The compulsory and premature retirement of Major General Mohammed did not follow due process and was rather arbitrary. The senior officer was never charged, tried, let alone found guilty of any offence that justified his premature retirement.

“The action was therefore a clear violation of extant rules, regulations, as well as Terms and Conditions of Service of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. This obvious violation prompted the senior officer to seek redress using the appropriate legal means. Consequently, the realisation of these omissions called for a review of the case by the Army Council and his subsequent reinstatement into the service.” 

Saleh noted that Mohammed’s case set a precedent that should be applied in the case of Army 38.

 A retired senior officer, who pleaded anonymity said: “For me, it feels like a case of cheating. You see these young men have had their careers stolen from them. No one should ever be made to feel that way, it leaves a sour taste and that is unfair.” 

The senior officer added that a letter was recently written by renowned human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on the matter, yet nothing has been done. 

With the Army exhausting its appeal on the judgments in favour of the officers, stakeholders have urged the AGF, in his capacity as the chief law officer of the country and the Minister of Defence to compel the Army to comply with the decisions in the interest of justice and fairness.

 The AGF equally needs to let the Army know that it is ridiculing the courts by not obeying their decisions, and this is an indication of impunity and lawlessness on the part of the Nigerian Army. 

Fagbemi needs to collaborate with the Minister of Defence to bring this issue to a quick resolution in the interest of justice.

Nigeria cannot continue to be like a lawless country. Courts orders and judgments must be respected and obeyed, no matter what. This, the AGF must ensure.