- * Says No Secret Court Marshal In Nigerian Army Since History
By Chinwendu Agoha (Governance Reporter)
As controversy continues to rage over, whether or not, six military personnel of Igbo extraction were secretly executed after an alleged clandestine court marshal allegedly ordered by the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai (Rtd), a Coalition of Youth Organizations have said their investigations proved that the story was indeed fake, deliberately put out to precipitate chaos and ethnic disharmony in the country.
The coalition in a statement on Wednesday by its leaders faulted the claim by a legal practitioner, one Barr. E.R Okoroafor, alleging that Six Igbo Christian Nigerian soldiers were secretly executed in Abuja, in the early hours of Tuesday, February 1, 2021, after an alleged hasty secret military court trial allegedly directed by the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (Rtd).
The group says, no secret court-martial has ever taken place in the history of the Nigerian Army as claimed in the "false and mischievous publication by Barrister Okoroafor and his cohorts caused to be published in some of the online media platforms".
The Youth activists in the said communique signed by Heads of Coalition of Youth Groups in Nigeria and superintended by the Emerging Leaders Forum of Nigeria (ELFON), maintained during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, that the alleged secret execution of six Igbo Christian soldiers and their alleged denial of access to legal representation was not just a fake allegation, but a false and mischievous act, capable of causing disharmony and chaos in the country.
The Coalition however warned that such unfounded allegation could degenerate, ignite or instigate tribal crises and should be condemned by all patriotic Nigerians.
The coalition is made up of the Youth Assembly of Nigeria (YAN), Niger Delta Youth Council, Igbozurumee Youth Council, Arewa Youth Council, Oo’dua Youth Vanguard, Nigerian Students Parliament (NSP), and 34 other Youth Organizations.
The group noted that instead of Nigerians appreciating the "meritorious and selfless service" of General Buratai while in the Army, they chose to "discredit and defame his person. This is unacceptable", the coalition maintains.
The Coalition also revealed in their statement, that after a credible independent investigation by the leadership of the youth group, their findings proved that there was no grain of truth in the said allegations by the lawyer to the slain Igbo soldiers, who, according to the trending story, were allegedly court marshaled over the alleged disappearance of weapons in the military armory said to be in their care at the Abacha Barracks, Abuja.
The broad-based youth group further challenged Barrister Okoroafor who is said to be the defense lawyer to the alleged executed six Igbo Soldiers, to urgently forward tangible pieces of evidence to buttress his allegations, failure of which, it urged the Nigerian Army to consider initiating court action against Barrister Okoroafor and his cohorts, for defamation of character, false and mischievous allegations against the Nigerian Army.
Part of the communique reads thus:
"The attention of the coalition of youth groups in Nigeria comprising the Youth Assembly of Nigeria (YAN), Niger Delta Youth Council, Igbozurumee Youth Council, Arewa Youth Council, Oo’dua Youth Vanguard, Nigerian Students Parliament (NSP), and 34 other Youth Organizations too numerous to mention, ably superintended by the Emerging Leaders Forum of Nigeria (ELFON), have been drawn to a baseless report made by one Barrister E.R Okoroafor who claimed that Six Igbo Christian Nigerian soldiers were secretly executed in the federal capital territory, Abuja, after a hasty secret trial at which they were said to be denied legal representation of their choice.
"Okorafor, from the investigation, is said to be leading a shadowy coalition of acclaimed rights activists and scholars that alleged the above-mentioned matter earlier today, Tuesday, February 2, 2021. As Nigerian Youths, we can no longer fold our hands to see things done falsely and mischievously.
"If really Barrister E.R Okoroafor is a genuine lawyer as he masquerades about and in the light of the weighty allegation, he should have sought for redress through the legal means instead of playing to the gallery by masterminding mischievous publications that are capable of breaching the peace of our dear nation.
"We actually wonder the type of mind this type of human being has. We equally wonder how he sleeps at night after telling these stupid lies just to blackmail people and please his paymasters. We wonder what his intentions are if not to instigate tribal war or another civil uprising. What does he want?
"Somebody like General Buratai who has meritoriously and selflessly served this country for over 35 years, instead of all and sundry to appreciate him, is being mischievously and falsely accused of killing 6 soldiers of Igbo extraction.
"After a thorough independent investigation, we hereby state that there is no secret court-martial in the history of the Nigerian Army, as claimed in the false and mischievous publication by the said Barrister Okoroafor.
"Above all, Okoroafor and his supporters should tell the world the real identities of the so-called soldiers that were allegedly executed. He should tell the world where they were executed and where their dead bodies are being kept? Who was the president or head of the so-called secret court marshal and who are the members of the trial panel? What are their offenses/ ingredients of the offenses? And where did the court-martial sit?
"We, therefore, call on the Nigerian Army to consider immediate court action against Barrister E.R Okoroafor and his co men of evil deeds to serve as a deterrent to other hired mischievous propagandists who are all out for the highest bidders. From our general independent investigation, there is no iota of truth in the nonsense Barrister Okoroafor and co are saying. We challenge him to produce all pieces of evidence as we believe the names he mentioned are fake.
"We will no longer tolerate any unpatriotic behavior borne out of a mere quest for cheap and stupid popularity. Never again! We are poised to ensure that Nigeria remains one united and indivisible country, against all human machinations", the statement said. NNL.
