The Nigerian army has dismissed the suspected soldiers who committed an atrocity against the renowned Islamic cleric, Goni Aisami, in Yobe State, northeastern Nigeria.
The two soldiers, Lance Corporal John Gabriel and Lance Corporal Adamu Gideon were arrested by the Nigerian police after they killed the cleric and tried to snatch his car at a location in Jajimaji, a distance of fewer than 30 kilometers from Gashua town.
According to the army, the two soldiers were found guilty of the charges leveled against them after their arrest and deep investigation in connection to the killing and snatching of the cleric’s car, an act that is totally against the ethics of the military and the country.
However, the acting commander officer in charge of 241 Reece battalion, Nguru, Yobe State, Lt Col. Ibrahim Osabo, told journalists that the two dismissed soldiers were dismissed on a two-count charge of failure to perform duties and conduct prejudice to service discipline.
According to him, we initiated a military police joint operation in collaboration with the Nigerian police force, and the report gives us the latitude to sanction the dismissed soldiers based on the ethics and conduct of the Armed Forces Act.
As such, they will be handed over to the Nigerian police where they will face the wrath of the civil prosecution and the consequences of their criminality that will serve as a detriment to others.
These men will never represent us. We are paid by Nigerian taxpayers to hold guns and defend our country, but what these soldiers do does not reflect the true image of the Nigerian army. He added
Recall that Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the gruesome murder of Goni Aisami by the two dismissed soldiers, the murder that sparked reactions in Nigeria, leading to the citizens’ agitation in demand for justice for the slain cleric who acted to assist the killer soldiers who tricked and killed him for being a good Samaritan.
