Rep Seeks Review Of Death Sentence For Condemned Soldiers

A House of Representatives member, Hon. Daniel Reyenieju has called for the review of the death sentence passed on 66 Nigerian soldiers, convicted for refusing to fight Boko Haram in the country’s insurgency-wracked North-east. Reyenieju said based on the recent statement of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh that the military lacked motivation and relevant equipment, the court martial should be disbanded and the death sentences vacated.
At an interaction with journalists in Abuja yesterday, the lawmaker representing Warri Federal Constituency, in Delta State, described the revelations made by Badeh as “timely and Godly.” Reyenieju who is also the vice chairman of the African branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union explained that Badeh’s disclosure should not be ignored by the present leadership of the Nigerian military. “In view of this weighty, indisputable information, on what ground should such soldiers/officers who allegedly disobeyed operational commands, including deserting be blamed? “If the present trial continues and the planned executions effected, I will find it difficult to explain when confronted in any of the gathering of international parliamentary forums in the face of the statement credited to the former CDS,” Reyenieju said.