Brigadier General Enitan
Ransome-Kuti, the son of the late human rights activist, Beko Ransome Kuti, has
been sentenced to six months in prison for offenses committed during the war
against Boko Haram.
He will be dismissed from the
Army if the sentence pronounced on him by a military court in Abuja on Thursday
is confirmed by the Nigerian Army.
Brigadier General Kuti has been
at the center of controversy relating to his conduct as an officer. He was
accused of failing to perform his military duties during the fight against Boko
Haram which may have resulted in the militants’ capture of Baga, the center of
a multinational force.
Included in the charges against
him is that Brigadier General Kuti failed to account for the weapons and
ammunitions under his supervision, rendering the army useless in the fight
against Boko Haram.
The officer denied all the
charges. During a long trial, his lawyer, Femi Falana, presented evidence to
the court that the Nigerian army had simply failed to provide necessary
equipment for the Brigadier General to perform his lawful duties.
Falana also presented several
statements from officers and soldiers who repeatedly stated that the army was
ill-equipped to fight Boko Haram, an assertion that was later affirmed by a
former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, shortly after he was fired from that
position earlier this year.
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