MUTINY IS DEATH SENTENCE, MINIMAH WARNS SOLDIERS

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, on Tuesday warned officers and men of the Nigerian Army to desist from any form of mutiny in the face of the ongoing campaign against the Boko Haram sect.
He warned that any soldier who engages in any form of mutiny is risking a death sentence, as the offence is punishable by firing squad.
The army chief, who spoke while addressing officers and men of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, was particularly miffed at the action of soldiers who refuse to serve in Maiduguri, Borno State, and other parts of the North East.
Minimah also frowned at the actions of some army officers’ wives, who recently attempted to stop their husbands from being deployed to go into action against the insurgents.
Stressing that refusal to carry out commands, especially deployment for military action in the North East, amounted to mutiny, Minimah said, “Mutiny is death sentence.”
Minimah condemned the action of the spouses of the army officers who demonstrated against the deployment of their husbands.
Warning against a repeat of such incident, the army chief stressed that the women have no hand in military postings, which he described as a purely military act.
He added that, should the wives of army officers repeat the action, “soldiers would koboko them.”
Minimah noted that NOWA, the umbrella body of army officers’ wives, was not a trade union and as a result has no reason to interfere in military duties.
He wondered if the soldiers’ wives thought that the army was ‘Boys Scout Movement or a Boys Brigade that they should come and disrupt army business.’
The COAS, who was in Enugu as in line with an ongoing familiarisation tour of military formations, also assured that the insurgency in the North East would end very soon.
He said the army is poised to procure more weapons that would enable it to end the war with the Boko Haram sect in the near future.
According to him, with the procurement of the weapons, Boko Haram’s days are numbered.
“We are procuring more weapons for the war against Boko Haram.
“We will end the war with Boko Haram very, very soon, there is no doubt we will win the war,” Minimah said.
He noted that winning the war is the only way the army and its officers and men could earn the confidence and adulation of Nigerians.
“Let us show the country that we can do that in the North East and then we shall walk tall in Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS also warned soldiers to steer clear of politics and politicians who might want to use them to score political points.
He said they should only work for politicians when they are on official assignments during electioneering campaigns or during elections proper.
Minimah also assured the officers and men of his commitment to their welfare.Source: Punch