Twelve soldiers serving under the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army (NA), Enugu, Enugu State would soon be arraigned before General Court Martial (GCM) that was setup by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Division, Major General Emmanuel Kabuk.
A release by the 82 Division Army spokesman (Deputy Director Public Relations), Col. Musa Sagir, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division Nigerian Army, (NA) Major General Emmanuel Kabul has on Monday the 10th of December, 2018 inaugurated a General Court Martial (GCM) to try erring personnel of the Division. This is in line with the importance of discipline to the success or failure of any organization, particularly the military, โ in peace or in war.
In his inaugural speech at the 82 Division Officersโ Mess, Abakpa Cantonment Enugu, Kabuk enjoined members of the GCM to adhere strictly to the rules of law and strict obedience to the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 as amended.
He described discipline as the bedrock of Military profession. According to him โthe operational efficiency of any military force is a mix of sound administration and rigid disciplinary measures.
โThus, disciplinary measures in the military to which court martial belong, are aimed at guaranteeing a highly disciplined and battle ready army, which is in line with the Chief of Army Staff vision โ โTo have a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its Constitutional rolesโ. In this vein, trials in the NA must be organized and administered in accordance with provisions of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) as amendedโ, he added.
โThe essence of the GCM, in addition to the dispensation of justice, is to send the right signal to the NA personnel that may fall into the temptation of violating extant rules and regulations, โ that acts of indiscipline will be met with appropriate disciplinary action.โ
He charged all the parties in the cases to avoid unnecessary technicalities that would delay the trials and in the process wastes a lot of resources.
โLet me recall both Section 36 of the 1999 CFRN (as amended) and Section 122 of the Armed Forces Act, CAP A20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 which emphasize that expeditious and speedy trials form the basis of which fair trial must restโ โ the GOC stated.
Kabuk further reiterated the popular beliefs that justice delayed is justice denied, justice delayed is not justice denied and justice delayed โ is not justice at all, he added.
Colonel Edwร rd Abore is the President of the GCM. He promised to administer justice in line with Armed Forces Act Cap A20 law of Federal and CFRN 1999 as amended. He made it clear that all the accused are entitled to legal representation of their choices.
Twelve Soldiers will be appearing before the GCM on various charges.
Recall that in the military, offences that cannot be summarily tried are the ones that are referred for court martial as contained in Section 124, Sub Section 6 of the Armed Forces Act.
