126 B’Haram-fighting soldiers sue Army over dismissal

126 B’Haram-fighting soldiers sue Army over dismissal July 16, 2015 :
Ade Adesomoju, Abuja 3 Comments [print] Some soldiers, numbering 126, who were sacked following the battle to recapture Bazza in Adamawa State from Boko Haram in October 2014, have sued the Nigerian Army for alleged wrongful dismissal. The 126 plaintiffs were among 255 soldiers sacked on January 13 and 14, 2015 by the Nigerian Army for alleged “disobedience to standing order and failure to perform military duties”. The soldiers, who said they were sacked through oral communication on January 13 and 14, 2015, filed their suit with number NICN/ABJ/92/2015, before the National Industrial Court sitting in Abu‎ja. The case is before the President of the NIC, Justice Babatunde Adejumo. Only 126 out of the 255 sacked soldiers, on whose behalf the law firm of human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), had petitioned the Army, were named in the suit as plaintiffs. Many of the 126 soldiers were enlisted in the Army in 1979 while others joined the army between then and 2013. The plaintiffs comprise four Warrant Officers ‎and others in the ranks of Sergeants, Corporal, Lance Corporal, and Private. Some of the plaintiffs are Warrant Officers Akanny Welcome, Davou Nta, Ibrahim Usman and Adediran Ogunmuyiwa. The soldiers were part of the joint force, code-named; ‘OP Zaman Lafia’ pooled together from different Divisions and Battalions of the Nigerian Army to combat Boko Haram in the North-East. According to the plaintiffs, their dismissal was communicated to them orally at their station by ‎Lt-Col. M.J. Gambo on January 13, 2015 and by the Garrison Commander, Brig. Gen. B.O Akinroluoyo, the following day.

The Army claimed that the plaintiffs failed to obey their Commanding Officer, Lt-Col. A. A Egbejule, during a counter-attack by Boko Haram in Bazza, a development which allegedly led to the recapture of the territory by the terrorists. But a lawyer in Falana’s law firm, Deji Morakinyo, argued in the statement of facts accompanying the suit that the soldiers were denied “inviolable opportunity to be heard and make representation in defence and to state their respective cases”. Morakinyo said the‎ soldiers had only retreated on the order by their Commanding Officer for “tactical withdrawal” after the terrorists regrouped and overwhelmed the soldiers with “AA anti-aircraft guns, APCS, RPGs, GPMGs, and other ‎sophisticated and superior weapons”. He added, “The claimants particularly aver that due to the insurgents’ counter-attack, and the re-capture of Bazza from the personnel of the defendant (the Nigerian Army), their Commanding Officer, Lt.-Col. A.A Egbejule, in line with military tradition, ordered tactical withdrawal by the Joint Force so as to re-strategise. “The claimants further and particularly aver that consistent with military tradition, the Joint Force had to comply with the superior order of their Commanding Officer, hence they withdrew as ordered by their Commanding Officer.” ‎They therefore want the court to, among other prayers, declare their sacking on the basis of failure to perform military duties and disobedience to standing order as “unconstitutional, illegal, irregular and ultra-vires”. They also want the court to order the Army to pay them their accrued salaries and other entitlements since they were sacked in January, N1m to each of them for breach of fundamental right to fair hearing and freedom from discrimination as well as N5m as the cost for prosecuting the suit. But the Army, through its notice of preliminary objection filed by its lawyer, Commander A.A Abu, insisted that the plaintiffs were duly sacked and thus asked the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. read more ... http://www.punchng.com/news/126-bharam-fighting-soldiers-sue-army-over-dismissal/

Boko Haram: Twin blasts in Nigerian city of Gombe kill 'at least 30'

Two bombs have gone off in a marketplace in the Nigerian city of Gombe, killing at least 30 people and injuring many more, many of them Muslims out shopping for Eid.

Although it is not yet clear who was responsible for the two bombs, which ripped through the crowded market, suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist group Boko Haram, which has mounted many similar attacks in the past.

A Red Cross official who wished to remain anonymous said he believed at least 30 people have died.
"I have 30 bodies in bags and I am sure there are more out there," said the official.
"I was about 70 metres from the scene [when the first blast struck]," local trader Badamasi Amin told AFP (quoted by al-Jazeera).

Boko Haram fights against Western influence in Nigeria and aims to impose its version of Sharia law in the country(Reuters)

"I and many other people rushed to assist the victims. While we were trying to attend to the wounded, another blast happened outside a china shop just opposite the footwear shop. Several people were killed and many more were injured."
Another Gombe resident told a local news site: "They planted bombs in a vehicle and another one in a very busy section of the market. The market is one of the biggest in the state and the casualty is certainly going to be high because people were preparing for tomorrow's Sallah [end of Ramadan]."
Due to its proximity to the most-affected states of Borno, Yobo and Adamawa, Gombe has been attacked several times before, with bombers attacking the market and bus station.

Since his inauguration on 29 May President Muhammadu Buhari has made the prevention of terrorism his highest priority, but Boko Haram have continued to mount attacks mainly across the northern States.
Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands of people in its campaign for a Sharia-run state. Buhari will meet President Obama in the United States next Monday (20 July).