Three soldiers get life sentences for selling arms to terrorists

A special court-martial of the Nigerian army has convicted four soldiers for illegal arms trade and aiding terrorists in the north-east.

The trial, convened by Ugochukwu Unachukwu, a brigadier general and acting general officer commanding 7 division and commander of sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), was held at the officers’ mess, Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.

Delivering judgment, Mohammed Abdullahi, a brigadier general and  president of the court-martial, sentenced Raphael Ameh, a sergeant; Ejiga Musa, a sergeant and Patrick Ocheje, a lance corporal, to life imprisonment. Omitoye Rufus, a corporal, was handed a 15-year jail term.

The soldiers were found guilty of offences ranging from theft and unlawful dealing in ammunition to aiding the enemy — all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.

Ameh, an armourer at 7 division garrison, was said to have conspired with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition from the division’s armoury.

He worked with police officers to conceal weapons in bags of beans and smuggle them to Enugu and Ebonyi for criminals.

Abdullahi said bank records showed over 100 transactions linked to the trade between July 2022 and June 2024.

Musa, while serving as an armourer of 195 battalion, was said to have collaborated with Ocheje and police officers to sell an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition.

Records showed he collected more than ₦500,000. He was arrested while attempting to sell more ammunition.

Abdullahi revealed that Rufus sold 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police officer.

Ocheje, deployed at forward operating base Molai, was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes at the persuasion of a police officer. He also stole an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.

The court held that their actions directly endangered military operations and national security, amounting to “aiding the enemy”.

Abdullahi condemned the convicts, describing them as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers in the fight against insurgency.

He restated the army’s zero-tolerance stance on the sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries “in whatever form or guise”.