sergeant of the Nigerian Army, over an allegation of murder.
Bala, who has been in Kaduna prison since 2012, was
sentenced to death for murder by the general court martial of the army.
He was accused of shooting one Isa Mohammed on December 9,
2012, when he was attached to the African Petroleum Station at Sabon Tasha,
Kaduna, with an AK47 rifle.
The victim was said to have died on December 10, 2012, at
Saint Gerald’s Catholic Hospital in Kaduna.
The accused stood trial before the general court-martial on
a two-count murder charge punishable under section 106 of the Armed Forces Act
2014.
He was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
However, on February 17, 2017, the Kaduna court of appeal
upheld Bala’s appeal against the death penalty.
The court held that the charge sheet upon which he was tried
and convicted was not signed by a general officer commanding (GOC) as required
by law.
Obietonbara Daniel Kalo, the judge who read the court of
appeal’s lead judgment, declared the process of the trial and conviction of the
sergeant a nullity.
However, the court failed to give a consequential order
discharging the accused, after which Bala filed an appeal before the apex court
on March 16, 2017.
Reuben Atabo, the appellant’s lawyer, had argued that since
his client’s trial was declared a nullity, the court of appeal ought to have
made a consequential order to discharge him.
The lawyer also drew the attention of the apex court to
section 193 of the Armed Forces Act 2014, which he said prohibited the retrial
of any military personnel after his trial had been voided and set aside.
But the Nigerian Army, through its lead counsel, Isaac
Udoka, opposed Atabo’s position and urged the supreme court to order the
retrial of the appellant, in the interest of justice.
Delivering judgment in the appeal marked SC/889/2017 on
Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court discharged the convicted soldier.
Helen Ogunwumiju, the supreme court justice, held that the
proper thing was to discharge the appellant since his trial and conviction were
already voided.
The court added that under section 193 of the Armed Forces
Act 2014, Bala can no longer be tried on the same offences.
The court ordered the immediate release of the convict from
Kaduna prison.
The sergeant, in his argument, claimed that he shot at the
deceased, Mohammed, and one other person in self-defence.
Bala argued that it was dark on the day the incident
happened, adding that he had ordered them to go back, but they kept walking
towards him.
The soldier noted that he was apprehensive because it was
during the peak of the Boko Haram attacks.
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