Skip to main content

How Buhari is frustrating my possible reinstatement – ‘Unjustly’ dismissed soldier

Photo from a previous military court martial used to illustrate the story.
Photo from a previous military court martial used to illustrate the story.
A controversially dismissed soldier on Wednesday told the National Industrial Court that he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari about his illegal dismissal, without receiving a response for over two years.
The soldier, Abdulfatah Mohammed, was responding to questions put forward by Jibrin Okutepa, a senior lawyer representing the Nigerian Army during a cross-examination at the court presided over by a judge, R B Haastrub.
Mr Mohammed and 38 other soldiers were dismissed by the army for controversial reasons in 2016.
The officers were neither warned ahead of their sack, nor made to face any panel as required by the Nigerian Army’s guiding rules.
A PREMIUM TIMES investigations later revealed that most of the affected soldiers were sacked for allegedly assisting the opposition Peoples Democratic Party then in government.
Speaking during cross-examination by Mr Okutepa: a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Mohammed, retired as a lieutenant colonel, refuted claims by the Nigerian Army that he was under obligation to repeat his application after 18 years in the service.
While referring to a letter which contained Mr Mohammed’s posting details after he was commissioned into the military, Mr Okutepa told Mr Mohammed that he was expected to abide by what the lawyer described as the terms of the posting letter and re-submit an application after completing 18 years in the military.
Responding however, Mr Mohammed noted the provisions of the armed forces terms and conditions of service which he described as absolving him (Mohammed) of any such obligations and added that he was not told by the army that the reason for his sack was because he failed to re-apply.
“Instead my retirement letter said I was being retired on disciplinary grounds. I was not given any queries, nor taken before a panel. I learnt about my retirement on the pages of the newspapers,” Mr Mohammed said.
“I wrote the President and Commander-In-Chief,” Mr Mohammed added. He further said that years after writing that letter, he is yet to receive an acknowledgement from the president.
The soldier said he served for over 20 years before he was sacked. He lamented that Mr Buhari failed to address his issue, nearly three years after he communicated the president on his plight.
The dismissed soldier added that he was also denied payment of a three months salary-in-lieu of his retirement, as required by law.
Following their dismissal in 2016, most of the affected soldiers approached the Industrial Court to challenge the decision of their employers.
While some of the cases have attracted positive decisions in court, others have been frustratedby the army who have said the dismissed soldiers were sacked for not renewing their contracts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Police confirms 5 dead, several injured in fresh attacks on Fulani settlements by suspected Mambilla militias

                                  Atleast 5 people were killed and several others injured in fresh attacks on Fulani settlements by suspected Mambilla militia in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State on Saturday. The spokesman for the Taraba State Police Command, ASP David Misal, who confirmed the incident said the crisis started on Thursday over a land dispute between Fulani and Mambilla in Yerimaru village and later snowballed into neighbouring villages. Misal said that units of mobile policemen and soldiers from the 20 battalion in Serti have been dispatched to the area to maintain law and order, adding that several homes were burnt down and many cows killed and stolen during the attack. A fleeing resident Saadu Mogoggo whose house was attacked at Leme suburb of Gembu, said two of his younger brothers were killed their cattle were rustled by the militia. “As I am...
Post a Comment
Read more

My horrible encounter with Ochanya’s alleged abuser – Victim’s sister speaks (1)

Mr and Mrs Ogbanje, Ochanya's parents   Sitting on the bed in a room at Ogene-Amejo village and listening to Rose Abah, mother of the deceased rape victim, Ochanya Ogbanje; there was almost no way of telling what her next stunning revelation would be. She earlier narrated the horrible details about her daughter, Ochanya’s  death . Mrs Abah told PREMIUM TIMES that Andrew Ogbuja made several attempts to rape her other 26-year-old daughter, Esther Ameh. According to Mrs Abah, the incident happened in April, 2018, when Miss Ameh went to the Ogbuja’s to care for her 13-year-old sister who had become perennially sick, after going to live with Mrs Ogbuja who was a maternal second cousin to the siblings. “Do you know that he also tried to sleep with my late daughter’s elder sister, Esther? That one is 13 years older than Ochanya,” Ms Abah said. Pointing at Miss Ameh’s picture hung on the wall, Mrs Abah said her other daughter had gone to the Ogbuja’s to care of...
Post a Comment
Read more

The worst crime a family can do is marrying their scumbag son to an innocent girl in the hope he will miraculously change" Arab influencer writes

    An Arab influencer has raised a discussion about families marrying off their sons who are not responsible enough, to innocent girls.   He pointed out that it has become common and when the man's behaviour doesn't improve after marriage, the woman is blamed.   Abed Alii tweeted: "The worst crime a family can do is marrying their son, who they know is a scum bag, to an innocent girl in the hope he will miraculously change...   "My sympathies are always with the womenfolk. They leave their family and come to an absolutely new one, without any support and then get abused. I’ve heard that so many times. 'maybe she’ll change him. She will make him change his bad habits. She’s a good girl.' It’s not her job to educate your son at the risk of damaging her mental Health!  And vice versa... let’s keep it real."   He added that it goes both ways and he has seen it happen to someone he knows.   Read his tweets below.    
Post a Comment
Read more