Tokunbo Obanla: Nigerian Army adjourns court martial of soldier who exposed poor Boko Haram operation
The military court martial set up to try private soldier Tokunbo Obanla has adjourned sitting to November 10, 2020.
Obanla had recorded a viral video of Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, a former Commander of the Nigerian Army’s Operation Lafiya Dole, the counter-terrorism command in the North-East.
In the video, Adeniyi was lamenting of inadequate ammunition supplied to soldiers to combat Boko Haram terrorists.
Obanla, who has spent eight months in detention, was sighted at the Command Mess, Abuja, venue of the court martial, on Wednesday.
He has been detained in the barracks and subjected to inhuman treatment since March.
His lawyer, Martin Obono, while speaking with SaharaReporters on Wednesday, said Obanla’s detention violated the provision of Nigerian Armed Forces Act and 1999 constitution.
Obono said he was was doing everything possible to ensure that his client regained his freedom.
He said, “He has been in detention for eight months and this contravenes the provision of Nigerian Armed Forces Act and constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Keeping the soldier for eight months without giving him opportunity to hear his side of the story is unfair.
“We really hope that by the time the matter is heard he will be able to get fair trial and regain his freedom.”
Recall that the viral video showed faces of distressed soldiers, who had narrowly escaped major attacks from Boko Haram terrorists and were lamenting the lack of arms and institutional support to fight the insurgents.
This angered the army authorities, who soon set out to punish all those involved in the video recording.
