Lt General Lamidi Adeosun
Lt General Lamidi Adeosun
Army Begins Trial of Former GOC over alleged N400m
stolen by ‘renegade’ soldiers
The Nigerian Army (NA), on Tuesday, inaugurated a General Court
Martial (GMC) to investigate and unravel the true circumstances
surrounding the disappearance of an alleged N400m by five run-away
soldiers in Sokoto State on 11 July, 2019.
The court martial, which is to be headed by the Army’s Chief of
Policy and Plan, Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun, was officially
inaugurated at the Army Headquarters Command Mess in Asokoro,
Abuja.
Lt. Gen. Adeosun, will lead seven other members of the court to
probe a former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Major
General Hakeem Okiti, who was reported to have directed the five
missing soldiers to provide escort for vehicles conveying the huge
sum of money from Sokoto to Abuja.
While reading the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General
Tukur Yusuf Buratai’s proclamation inaugurating members of the
court martial, General Adeosun, disclosed that the books of
evidences to be used during the trial period include Armed Forces
Act CAP A20 LFN 2004, Evidence Act No 18. 2011, Rules of Procedures
(Army) 1972, the Holy Quran and Bible, together with other relevant
documents.
He explained that the GCM will be sitting at the AHQ Command
Mess, on dates and times to be decided by the President of the
martial.
Mr. Okechukwu Odion, lead counsel to the prosecuted Major
General, will be assisted by three other lawyers, who formed the
GOC’s defence team.
It would be recalled that five soldiers on escort duty for the 8
Division GOC, on 11 July, went rogue and stole a large amount of
money (allegedly running into hundreds of millions) they were asked
to take to an unknown destination in Abuja from Sokoto.