A Special Court-Martial of the Nigerian Army sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three soldiers to life imprisonment and another to 15 years for engaging in illegal arms dealings with police officers and terrorists.
The court, convened under Operation Hadin Kai and presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, delivered judgment at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters on September 18, 2025.
Those sentenced to life include Sergeant Raphael Ameh, an armourer with 7 Division Garrison, who was found guilty of conspiring with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition and channel them through police contacts hidden in bags of beans to Enugu and Ebonyi States. Investigators also traced over 100 suspicious bank transactions to his account between July 2022 and June 2024.
Sergeant Ejiga Musa, formerly the armourer of 195 Battalion, was convicted of collaborating with Lance Corporal Patrick Ocheje and a police inspector, Francis Manasseh, to sell an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition. He was found to have pocketed more than ₦500,000 from such deals.
Lance Corporal Patrick Ocheje, deployed at a Forward Operating Base in Molai, was equally sentenced to life imprisonment for diverting ammunition during communal clashes instigated by a police officer and for stealing an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.
The fourth convict, Corporal Omitoye Rufus, received 15 years imprisonment for unlawfully selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police inspector.
The offences, ranging from theft to unlawful dealing in ammunition, aiding the enemy and tampering with service property, contravene provisions of the Armed Forces Act CAP A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
In his remarks, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, President of the Special Court-Martial, described the convicts as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers, especially in the fight against insurgency. He stressed that their actions not only violated military laws but also directly endangered ongoing operations and national security.
The Army reaffirmed its zero-tolerance stance against betrayal and collusion with adversaries, vowing to continue purging its ranks of personnel involved in criminal activities that undermine the war against terrorism.
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