The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant presidential pardon to the 54 soldiers who are currently serving a 10-year jail term.
MURIC Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, made the plea on Monday in a statement.
According to him, the 54 soldiers were rounded up in 2014 when they complained to their commander that their weapons were too poor to confront better equipped Boko Haram fighters.
He said they had earlier lost 23 men and four officers due to poor equipment when they advanced on Damboa on 9th July, 2014, which made them to demand better supplies when they were ordered to return to the battle front again without improved weaponry.
“They were consequently tried and sentenced to death but this was later commuted to ten years imprisonment. They are still in jail as we speak.
“The MURIC is deeply concerned about the plight of these heroes of Nigeria who have been wrongly treated.
“Yes, we strongly believe that they have been wrongly treated. They had defended Nigeria on several fronts before the incident. Their comrades fell on the battle field in their presence.
“While other soldiers knew that money meant for weapons were being siphoned into private pockets of top officers but chose to remain quiet, the gallantry and patriotism in the 54 soldiers motivated them to speak up and demand better weapons.
“Their demand actually exposed the rot in the top military hierarchy regarding the high level corruption involving the diversion of funds meant for weapons.
“It was the eye-opener that led to the popular case of $2.1 billion weapons fund diverted to the 2015 electioneering campaign by the then ruling party.
“It is therefore paradoxical that the 54 soldiers who exposed corruption in the military are now rotting in jail,” Akintola said.
He said the organisation have been calling for their release since 2015, issued several statements on the matter but to no avail.
He wondered how the government and the citizens can leave the nation’s heroes to rot in jail. And how the defenders of the nation’s territorial integrity to suffer years of alienation and deprivation?
He said the MURIC had met Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the matter and also sent a petition to his office at Aso Rock.
Akintola said, “We met Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during his visit to Lagos around November 2018 and tabled the case of the 54 soldiers before him.
“The Vice President showed understanding and requested that we should send a petition to his office. We did that within one week and his office responded. We were hopeful. That was about six months ago. Justice delayed is justice denied.
“But today our hope is diminishing. These innocent soldiers have already spent five years in custody. The Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion (PCPRD) which was inaugurated on Tuesday 28th August, 2018 has freed about 5,000 prisoners but not a single one of them is among the 54 soldiers.
“The PCPRD, headed by Justice Ishaq Bello, has reportedly visited 15 states. We are not certain that the committee has seen the 54 soldiers. There is no better time for President Muhammadu Buhari to invoke the prerogative of mercy on the 54 soldiers than now. The month of Ramadan is the month of mercy. It is the month of giving and sharing.”
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