Fresh Twist: Nigerian Army Ordered To Reinstate 70 Soldiers Granted Presidential Pardon By Buhari

The National Industrial Court (NIC) has ordered the Nigerian Army to reinstate 70 soldiers who were convicted by courts-martial in 2014 but later received an unconditional presidential pardon from the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a judgment delivered on July 20, Justice Sanda Yelwa ruled that the presidential pardon granted under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution nullified the legal consequences of the soldiers’ convictions, sentences and dismissals, thereby restoring their legal status and entitling them to return to military service.

Details of the ruling were disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Tayo Soyemi of Falana & Falana Chambers, the legal representatives of the affected soldiers.

The suit, marked NICN/LA/54/2023, was instituted by the 70 soldiers against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) after the military allegedly failed to act on their request for reinstatement following the presidential pardon.

The claimants asked the court to declare that the pardon invalidated their convictions and dismissals, compel the Nigerian Army to reinstate them, and order the payment of their outstanding salaries and allowances dating back to December 17, 2014.

The soldiers were tried before separate courts-martial in 2014 over allegations bordering on conspiracy and mutiny. They were initially sentenced to death before their punishment was later commuted to 10 years’ imprisonment.

After completing their prison terms, they were granted an unconditional presidential pardon by former President Buhari through the Instrument of Grant of Pardon, 2022, which was published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette on July 29, 2022.

According to the statement, Falana & Falana Chambers subsequently wrote to the Chief of Army Staff on November 7, 2022, requesting the soldiers’ reinstatement and payment of their entitlements. Although the letter was acknowledged, the Army reportedly failed to respond.

Counsel to the claimants, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Funmi Falana, alongside Chukwuma Onwumene, argued that the presidential pardon extinguished every legal consequence arising from the convictions, including the dismissal of the soldiers from military service.

The Federal Government, represented by Omobolanle Aina, opposed the application, contending that while a presidential pardon forgives an offence and restores certain civil rights, it does not erase the historical record of a conviction or automatically guarantee reinstatement into public service.

The statement further noted that the Chief of Army Staff neither entered an appearance nor filed a defence in the matter.

In his judgment, Justice Yelwa held that the official gazette constituted conclusive evidence that all 70 claimants benefited from the presidential pardon. The court also observed that the Nigerian Army failed to challenge the evidence presented or explain why it ignored the soldiers’ request for reinstatement.

The judge ruled that since the dismissals flowed directly from the courts-martial convictions, they could no longer stand after the unconditional presidential pardon.

Although the court acknowledged that reinstatement would require administrative implementation by the Nigerian Army, it held that the soldiers had acquired a legally enforceable right to return to service because the constitutional impediment to their employment had been removed.

On the issue of unpaid salaries, the court declined to award arrears covering the period between December 17, 2014, and July 17, 2022, ruling that the claimants were not entitled to salaries for the period they were incarcerated and not actively serving.

Justice Yelwa also noted that the presidential pardon did not provide for retrospective payment of salaries.

The court, however, ordered the immediate reinstatement of the 70 soldiers with effect from July 18, 2022, and directed the Nigerian Army to pay all salaries, allowances and other benefits accruing from that date until they are formally reinstated.