Some of the 38 officers of the Nigerian Army illegally dismissed from service in 2016 have written an appeal letter to the federal government, demanding their reinstatement and payment of their salaries and emoluments.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Danladi Hassan, a colonel, and 37 others were compulsorily retired on 09 June 2016 without being charged by a court martial or found guilty of any offence under the Armed Forces extant rules and regulations.
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Mr Hassan had in 2014 led troops to reclaim Bulabulin and Damboa from Boko Haram insurgents. Commissioned in September 1994, the senior military officer had taken part in several foreign missions including the ECOMOG operations in Liberia, and Sierra Leone, as well as the United Nations Mission in Sudan.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that of the officers, Baba Ochankpa, a colonel, died in 2017.
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The letter, seen by our reporter, was written on behalf of the officers by Falana and Falana’s Chamber, a law firm co-owned by human rights lawyer Femi Falana, a senior advocate. The letter was dated 5 December and addressed to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
Forced to retire: The travails of the 38 officers
Mr Hassan and his colleagues said they learnt about their compulsory retirement in the media.
“Without any basis, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Army Staff at the material time, alleged in the media that our clients were professionally corrupt and that they were punished after due process,” Falana and Falana’s Chambers wrote in the letter. “Contrary to the libellous statement of both highly placed public officers, our clients were never accused nor tried for corruption or any other offence whatsoever.”
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Mr Hassan and his colleagues subsequently petitioned the military leadership at the time, but the petitions were ignored.
“As the said petitions were ignored, our clients had no other option but to ventilate their grievances in the National Assembly, while seven of them sought legal redress at the National Industrial Court,” the law firm wrote.
The battle for reinstatement
The seven officers who approached the National Industrial Court include Ijioma Ijioma, a major-general; Abubakar Sa’ad, a brigadier-general, and Muhammed Suleiman, a colonel. The four others — Dukip Dazang, Thomas Arigbe, Abdulfatai Muhammed and Abubakar Mohammed — were lieutenant colonels.
Ruling in their favour between 2019 and 2021, the National Industrial Court declared their compulsory retirement illegal and ordered that they should be immediately reinstated. The court also ordered the payment of their outstanding salaries and allowances.
“Even though the judgments delivered in favour of the seven claimants by the National Industrial Court were not challenged at the Court of Appeal, the authorities of the Nigerian Army have refused to comply with the terms of the judgments despite several requests made by our clients,” the law firm added.
The law firm also noted that since the judgments were delivered between 2019 and 2021, the right to appeal against them has expired.
On 8 January 2019, Mr Hassan took a similar step. He won his case at the National Industrial Court which ruled among other things the reinstatement of Mr Hassan. To challenge the judgment, the Nigerian Army filed an appeal but it lost it.
In a clear disregard for court orders, the Nigerian Army, according to Mr Falana’s law firm, claimed in a letter dated 07 October 2022 that “Colonel Hassan is no longer promotable and will not be 100% loyal to his juniors who have since been promoted as Generals in the Nigerian Army.”
The law firm added that the army stated that Mr Hassan could not be reinstated because he had had a “broken service” experience.
In 2016, however, the Nigerian Army had reinstated one Ahmadu Muhammed, a Major-General, the law firm noted, arguing that that was contrary to the “untenable reasons for the disobedience of the court orders.”
While others challenged their forceful retirement in courts, two of the 38 officers — Chidi Ukoha and Osita Nwankwo — approached the Senate and House of Representatives to seek redress.
“Both chambers independently investigated their petitions and respectively observed that there was no basis for their compulsory retirement and therefore recommended their reinstatement,” Mr Falana’s law firm stated, adding the Nigerian Army ignored the resolutions of both chambers.
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Pleas
The law firm pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the judgments and orders of all courts are complied with.
“We urge you to use good offices to direct the authorities of the Nigerian Army to implement the judgments of the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal as well as the resolutions of the National Assembly on the subject matter,” the law firm urged the president.
Specifically, it demanded the immediate reinstatement of all the listed officers into the Nigerian Army with effect from June 2016. It also called for the restoration of the listed officers to the current rank and the seniority of their coursemates in the Nigerian Army.
Lastly, the law firm demanded the payment of salaries and emoluments from June 2016 to the affected officers.
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