The Nigerian Army General Court Martial sitting in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital on Friday sentenced a serving soldier to death for killing five rescued civilians from Yamteke area of the state. The soldier who was identified as Lance Corporal John Godwin was charged with murder, punishable under Section 106 (a) of Armed Forces Acts (Cap A20), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004. He had since been in custody before his trial.
Apart from Godwin, other soldiers were jailed for various offences including manslaughter, and illegal possession of fire arms and ammunition.
The spokesperson of 7 Divison, Lt. Col. Kingley Samuel who confirmed the sentence disclosed that the victims shot dead by Godwin were rescued from Zamanbari area of Borno state.
“The civilians were earlier rescued by troops of Godwin’s battalion and were taken for investigation at the time he shot and killed five of them. Another soldier, Sergeant Innocent Ototo, was sentenced to life imprisonment for manslaughter after torturing and killing a 13-year-old boy who he said stole his phone. The incident happened at Zamanbari area of Maiduguri in Borno State.”
