IN a landmark ruling aimed at cleaning up Nigeria’s military ranks, a Special Court-Martial of the Nigerian Army sitting in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced four soldiers for their roles in a dangerous arms trafficking syndicate that supplied weapons and ammunition to terrorists and criminal groups.
News Point Nigeria reports that the judgment, delivered on Monday at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters, Operation Hadin Kai, sent a stern message to security personnel aiding the enemy.
Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, who presided over the court-martial under the chairmanship of Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division, declared that the convicted soldiers had disgraced their uniforms and betrayed the trust of Nigerians.
Sergeant Raphael Ameh, found guilty of conspiracy, theft of ammunition, and unlawful dealings. Bank records showed over 100 suspicious transactions linked to his name between July 2022 and June 2024.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sergeant Ejiga Musa, convicted for selling an AK-47 rifle and large caches of ammunition to criminals, collecting over ₦500,000 in proceeds. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Lance Corporal Patrick Ocheje, deployed to a forward operating base in Molai, he diverted ammunition during communal clashes and even stole a colleague’s rifle at the urging of a police officer. He too was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Corporal Omitoye Rufus, caught selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to a police officer. He was handed 15 years in prison.
Investigations revealed that Ameh, then an armourer at 7 Division Garrison, conspired with a deceased colleague and corrupt police officers to smuggle ammunition hidden in bags of beans from Maiduguri to Enugu and Ebonyi States.
Similarly, Musa, an armourer with 195 Battalion, worked closely with Ocheje and rogue police officers in trafficking arms. Their arrests followed surveillance operations after intelligence exposed the syndicate’s activities.
The court-martial found that their actions directly undermined Nigeria’s counter-insurgency efforts, amounting to aiding the enemy, a grave offence under the Armed Forces Act.
Delivering the verdict, Brig. Gen. Abdullahi condemned the soldiers as “bad eggs” who had soiled the honour of the military, warning that the Nigerian Army maintains a zero-tolerance policy for betrayal, indiscipline, and collusion with terrorists.
“The sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries in whatever form or guise is treason against the nation. These men endangered our operations, our comrades, and the country they swore to defend,” Abdullahi declared.
He stressed that the convictions should serve as a deterrent to any personnel tempted to compromise national security for financial gain.
The ruling comes at a time when Nigeria continues to battle insurgency, banditry, and rising gun violence.