A Special Court Martial of Operation Lafiya Dole on Monday
dismissed Flight Lieutenant Martins Owerem who was accused of
defilement and assault of a 14-year-old internally displaced girl
last year.
The teenager, Zara Ali, an IDP at Bakassi camp from Marte Local
Government Area of Borno State and her twin sister reportedly went
to fetch firewood outside Bakassi IDP camp on September 29,
2018.
Flight Lieutenant Owerem, who was then Officer Commanding the
Armed Forces Special Force Battalion at Delwa, was alleged to have
stopped them and later asked the girl to follow him to a nearby
bush where he forcefully had canal knowledge of her.
He was subsequently arrested and investigated by the Theatre
Special Court Martial last year.
Flight Lieutenant Martins Owerem stood trial on three counts
charge, defilement, disobedience to standing order and assault.
The President of the Special Court Martial, Maj-Gen. Yakubu
Auta, while delivering his judgment on Monday at Maimalari
Cantonment in Maiduguri after listening to fierce arguments from
both prosecution and defense team, said the officer was found
guilty on two count charges out of three leveled against him which
are punishable under the Armed Forces Act.
“This sentence is as follows: On count one charged you, you are
hereby dismissed from the Armed Forces and on the third count
charged you, you are hereby demoted from your current rank of Fight
Lieutenant to flying lieutenant with three years loss of seniority
on the rank of your mates.
“On the second count charged you are not guilty.
“I hereby announce that the hearing of this case is concluded,”
Maj-Gen. Yakubu affirmed.
Other members of the Special Court Martial were Maj-Gen. Kabiru
Salahudeen, Maj-Gen. Uthman and Group Captain Famuyiwa.
According to the special court judgment, the case is a routine
occurrence of the military to ensure disciplinary measures against
erring personnel.
Daily Trust had earlier reported that the girl was brought into
Bakassi camp with bloodstains on her by a good Samaritan who
assisted them. She was said to have been taken to the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Hospital in the camp where they
ascertained her condition.
Read more court-martial-dismisses-air-officer-for-defiling-14-year-old-internally-displaced-girl/
El-Rufai holds Security Meeting over
Abuja-Kaduna-Birnin-Gwari Road
Police and other security agencies are reinforcing their
presence on the major expressways leading in and out of Kaduna.
This was announced following a meeting of the Kaduna State Security
Council summoned by Malam Nasir El-Rufai to assess the situation on
the Kaduna-Abuja and Kaduna-Birnin Gwari roads.
Governor El-Rufai presided over the meeting via teleconference
from Dakar, Senegal, where he accompanied President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Present at the meeting were Brigadier General OJ. Akpor,
Garrison Commander I Division, Air Commodore I. Sani, Base
Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police AT Abdullahi, State
Director Department of State Services, Ahmed Idris Koya, Modu Bunu,
Commandant Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Secretary to
the State Government, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, DIG Murtala Abbas,
Special Adviser on Internal Security, Adamu Mansur, Permanent
Secretary, Cabinet Affairs and Special Services and Samuel Aruwan,
Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity.
The Kaduna State Security Council appealed for calm, assuring
citizens plying the Abuja-Kaduna and Kaduna-Birnin Gwari roads of
robust security patrols on the resolutions adopted for immediate
implementation.
The meeting assured residents that the government will continue
to partner with security agencies operating in the state towards
the protection of life and property of the citizenry. Further
details of the meeting were not made public to avoid undermining
security measures.
The Security Council released the following helplines for
citizens to contact security agencies:
• 09034000060
• 08170189999
Signed
Samuel Aruwan
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor (Media and Publicity)