We may try errant soldiers on battlefield –CDS

The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, on Wednesday said that opposition in some quarters against the death sentence on 12 soldiers convicted for mutiny might compel themilitary leadership to try such offenders in the bush and give them summary execution if found guilty.

The CDS said that there was nothing wrong in the decision to court-martial soldiers for various offences committed in the on-going operation.

Badeh said that the military ensured adherence to the provisions of the constitution in carrying out the court martial.

The Defence Chief was reacting to presentation made on the first day of a three-day retreat on Security/Media Relations in Crisis Management organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser in collaboration with Trims Communication s Nigeria Limited in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said that there was no provision for constructive mutiny as all military personnel took the oath of office to first obey orders given to them.

“When we took the oath to become soldiers we did not say there is anything like constructive mutiny, your own is to first obey, we took oath to defend Nigeria with everything we have.

“I have not heard of any American soldier turning round to run away from Boko Haram, our own, people will jump out of the APC because they want to donate APC to Boko Haram. you run away and yet we condemned those people to death.”

Badeh added, “The National Assembly made the law, it’s there the books, people are saying no, no you cannot do that, why wouldn’t we do it, in fact maybe you will now push us to go and start doing field court martial in the bush. We will try them and in five minutes we would have finished trying them, kill them, bury them and we go on with the fight.

“We are trying to show people that the just system of the military works, that is why we brought them to a court martial. So let us allow these processes take place, your own is not to say we should not kill, the law says so, if you run away from the enemy, that is is cowardice and you should die.”

Source: PUNCH.