Former Senate President Moves To Stop Soldiers Death
Ameh Ebute, a former senate president has filed an appeal to stop the execution of six of the 12 soldiers sentenced to death by the Nigerian Military Tribunal, after being found guilty of mutiny.
Vanguard reports that Ebute, who is also a renowned lawyer on Wednesday, filed a motion for a stay of execution of the condemned soldiers at the Appeal Court in Abuja.
READ ALSO: Ex-Army Chiefs Support Death Penalty Verdict For 12 Soldiers
The ex-senate president explained that he filed the appeal in regards to Sections 183 and 184 of the Armed forces Act cap A of the Laws of the Federation, which offers the condemned soldiers up to 10 days to appeal their conviction.
He directed the Nigerian army to halt further action on the convicted soldiers pending when the appeal would be heard and determined in accordance with the law of the land especially as the GOC who they allegedly attempted to kill did not die.
Ameh, who also expressed concern over the condition the convicted soldiers are being subjected to by the military authorities in Lagos, alleged that it was equivalent to execution. He pointed out that the convicted soldiers have been detained in an isolated dark facility, which he said is below the standard of the basic amenities that can hardly support life.
The ex-senate president, who further stated that, it would be difficult for human beings to survive under the condition the soldiers are subjected called on the military authorities to transfer the condemned men to a normal detention facility.
The renowned lawyer also urged the military authorities not to jeopardize the lives of the condemned men, and reiterated that Nigeria was not in a jungle.
READ ALSO: Nigerians Discuss Death Penalty For Maiduguri Mutiny
“The condition under which these men are being kept amounts to execution since they are kept in a permanently dark room bereft of the basic facilities of life” Ameh said.
Ameh Ebute is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who was senate president towards the end of the Nigerian third republic. He is the second senator from Benue State to become senate president.
It would be recalled that some soldiers of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army reportedly mutinied in their barracks against the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Abubakar Mohammed.
Meanwhile, on September 23, 2014, the Nigerian Senate refused the plea to spare the lives of the 12 Nigerian Army soldiers who were sentenced to death for mutiny.
Source: Legit.ng
