The petition entitled “Detention and Illegal trial of SGT. Okwara Oliver & 27 Soldiers of the Nigerian Army was signed by their counsel, Mr Peters Adonu and sent to the Senate President David Mark and Speaker House of Representatives Demeji Bankole.

They asked the National Assembly to intervene in the matter as the Chief of Army Staff COAS according to them, has made up his mind to punish the solders unjustly.

It would be recalled that the Soldiers who are from different formations protested the non payment of their allowances after they returned from a peace keeping mission in Liberia .

They took to the streets of Akure which resulted in the arrest and detention of some of them, their trial commenced last week in Akure.

In the  petition the soldiers  said “the 28 soldiers are part of a contingent of Nigerian soldiers that went to serve in a Peace Keeping Mission in Liberia on 12th September, 2007 and they came back on the 23rd April, 2008.

“It is the practice of the Army to keep back part of the servicemen financial entitlement back home while on outside service. This is then handed-over when they return.

“In this instant however upon return, the soldiers about 800 of them were not paid, and the Nigerian Army could not justify to the men the true position of their entitlements and compulsory savings rather, they kept posting them.

“Their Commanding Officer in the person of Lt. Col. G. A. Umelo (N/9052) addressed the troops on 4th of July, 2008 informing them that their allowances were left behind in Liberia,” the petition said.

According to them 800 soldiers demanded to be paid. Out of these, about 150 were arrested and 28 scapegoats were eventually picked and lined up for trial.

Adonu added “the concern was that the pronouncement of the President of the Court martial made it clear that army authority had made up their minds to convict the soldiers, no matter what the facts and what the law says.

“We are concerned that the charges brought against the soldiers carry capital punishment even where they do not deserve such inhuman treatment.

“We are also worried that if the proceedings in the Court Martial is allowed to fully play itself out, monumental, irreparable injustice would have been done to the 28 soldiers, who have gallantly served Nigeria, in order to cover the greed of their superiors who took away their financial rights as servicemen, denied them the right to complain, and now seek to send them to the lion’s den.”

Meanwhile, The President of the martial court Brigadier Ishaya Bauka has however granted bail under stringent condition which they have not been able to meet.

Their Counsels Femi Falana and Morakinyo Ogele are contemplating to vary the bail condition in order to free the suspects.

Alternatively, the team would make the Nigerian army to obey the order of an Akure High Court which had earlier directed that the solders should be released on bail pending the determination of the case against them.

Ogele said the legal team was not oblivious of the fact that Brigadier Bauka has said that the army was not bound to obey the order of the civil court but they would still file contempt charge against them if they failed to obey the order of court.

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