The General Court Martial (GCM) on the trial of Ex Seaman Abbas Haruna M5759 of the Nigerian Navy at the conclusion of proceedings, has found Ex Seaman Abbas Haruna guilty on all counts charges labelled against him.
The 3 counts charge include: Disobedience to Particular Orders, Resistance to Arrest and Offences in Relation to Public and Service Property contrary to Sections 56 (1), 86 (1) and 66 (c) of the Armed Forces Act (AFA) Act CAP A20 Laws of the Federation (LFN) 2004, respectively.
The Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau while briefing newsmen on Wednesday 2nd October 2024 said the trial recieved the testimonies of the prosecution and Defence witnesses as well as the exhibits tendered by the prosecution surrounding the circumstances of the case.
"It is important to note that the ex rating pleaded guilty to all the charges during the trial. The GCM therefore, considered the nature of the offence committed by the ex rating, his plea of guilty and plea in mitigation of punishment as well as the legal advice of the Judge Advocate in arriving at its verdict. Based on this, he was sentenced to Reduction in Rate from Seaman to Ordinary Seaman on Count One and Dismissal with Ignominy on Counts 2 and 3 with effect from 7 February 2023. Thereafter, the ex rating was placed on open arrest at the arrival hall in Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja pending confirmation of the sentences by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS)"
"At this juncture and for the purpose of clarity, permit me to give you a brief explanation on how the GCM arrived at the sentencing of Ex Seaman Abbas Haruna M5759. The ex rating was represented by a defence counsel of his choice, Barrister Chukwu N Augustine and Gorgi Esq and he pleaded not guilty to the charges during arraignment. However, before the prosecution could call their witnesses to establish their case against the ex rating, his counsel made an application to the effect that the ex rating wanted to change his plea. The application was granted and the ex rating changed his plea to guilty, thereby necessitating re-arraignment"
"The other ingredients which the Prosecution was required to prove to secure the conviction in respect of the ex rating were that he disobeyed a lawful authority, resisted arrest, and willfully damaged to Service property. These ingredients were sufficiently established before the court and were neither challenged by the ex rating nor his lawyers. Importantly, a perusal of the ROP confirmed that the accused rating disobeyed the order of his CO and resisted arrest by firing his rifle to the extent that he expended 16 rounds of 7.62mm which could have resulted in the death of any of his colleagues"
"The action of the ex rating was in no doubt an act of gross indiscipline capable of taking the lives of his colleagues.
8. It is therefore evident that the ex rating cannot be trusted with a rifle or any weapon belonging to the AFN. This is because soldiers, ratings and aircraftmen are trained for the purpose of weapon handling to apply same judiciously and diligently when called upon for the protection of the sovereignty of the FRN and not extraneous uses which could endanger others. Pertinently, it is opined that the ex rating ought to have also been charged for attempted murder of everyone that was in the vicinity when he fired the shots. Notwithstanding, he was appropriately charged, tried, found guilty and sentenced on the 3 counts charge presented before the GCM" said DHQ spokesman.
It would be recalled that some media organizations including the social media space were recently bombarded with stories regarding the case of Ex Seaman Abbas Haruna M5759 with allegations meted on the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Abuja.
Suffice to mention that Ex Seaman Abbas Haruna M5759 was a rating of the Nigerian Navy who last served under Exercise AYAM AKPATUMA which was a joint operation under DHQ.
According to DHQ, the case involving Ex Seaman Abbas Haruna M5759 started when he was found misbehaving during a parade. Specifically, the ex rating was part of the parade during a coordinating conference of the Commanding Officer (CO), when he was addressing troops of Exercise AYAM AKPATUMA preparing for operation.
While the CO was addressing the troops, the ex rating continually interrupted the address which warranted the CO to direct him to report to the guard room. However, the rating refused to obey the order. Thus, the CO directed his arrest but the ex rating resisted and expended 16 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition belonging to the NN with the aim of preventing other soldiers from taking him into custody.
Consequently, investigation was conducted and the ex rating was recommended to be tried by court martial. The ex rating was eventually tried by a General Court Martial on the authority that as serving personnel, he was subject to both military and civil laws.
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