The panel set up by the Nigerian Army to investigate allegations of misconduct against its officers and men during the 2015 general elections has found 96 soldiers of culpability.
The panel recommended compulsory retirement of two , while nine will face probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside other sanctions.
About 132 soldiers and 62 civilians were interrogated by the panel. The Nigerian Army set up a board of inquiry to investigate allegations against its personnel, following an audio transmission by one Sagir Koli, a captain at the 32nd Artillery Brigade in Ekiti state.
The Army Captain against all odds recorded an audio conversation between his General Officer Commanding, some other military officers and members of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) on a grand plan to rig the gubernatorial election in Ekiti and Osun states using the military after collecting monetary gratification.
The panel set by the Army submitted the results of their findings yesterday in Abuja to the Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai far-reaching recommendations.
According to a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman the Chairman of the Board Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, the General Officer Commanding 1 Division Nigerian Army who submitted the report to the Army Chief said memoranda were invited from members of the public and “23 officers and over 100 soldiers appeared before it as well as 62 civilians”, before the recommendations were arrived at.
The chairman said the recommendations are to help the army Leadership and the nation in the future, to which “2 officers were recommended for compulsory retirement from the Nigerian Army, 3 are to loose their command and 1 was recommended for prosecution for collecting financial gratification.
Other recommendations include placing 15 officers on watch list, 9 officers were to be further investigated by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission over allegations leveled against them. While 6 officers were to face an audit committee and 62 officers (mostly of the rank of Majors-below) were to be given Letters of Displeasure and to appear before their respective General Officers Commanding for counseling”.
The statement said the these recommended punishments became necessary following the embarrassing petitions and allegations of “unprofessional and partisan conducts of some officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army during the 2015 General elections, Ekiti and Osun States Gubernatorial elections last year”, that informed the setting up of the Board of Inquiry.
While acknowledging the cooperation of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies during the investigation, Oyebade who is the General Officer Commanding 1 Division Nigerian Army said the board is not lost on the gravity of the recommendations and the consequences it would have on the career of the officers and soldiers.
The Chief of Army Staff commended the efforts of the committee for discharging “their assignment diligently and professionally, noting that the report would be reviewed accordingly, in line with Nigerian Army’s legal and administrative procedures.
