If the Nigerian Army
authorities get the nod of President Muhammadu Buhari, all suspected serving
officers in the ongoing investigation into the $2.1bn arms procurement scandal
will undergo military trial, The PUNCH has learnt.
A competent government source
confided in our correspondent on Sunday that military authorities had sought
the President’s permission for the officers to be prosecuted under the Armed
Forces Act.
He said the position of the
military was that the Armed Forces Act had made provision for such infractions
on the part of military men and how to handle their cases.
He added that it was the belief
of the military that if the indicted officers were tried using the military
rule, it would be better than when they were prosecuted by the regular court.
The source said the argument
for military trial for the officers was further strengthened by the fact that
the money, which is the subject of the investigation, was meant for the
procurement of arms for the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He said, “The military
authorities have suggested to the Federal Government that all serving officers,
found culpable in the ongoing investigation into the arms procurement scandal,
be tried under the Armed Forces Act rather than being tried in regular courts.
“You may recall that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has returned Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, the
former Aide-de-Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, to the military authorities
after he was interrogated.
“A former Military Assistant in
the Office of the National Security Adviser, Col. Nicholas Ashinze, had also
been confined to the Officers’ Mess by the military authorities after his
initial detention by the anti-graft agency.