The Nigerian Army has sentenced three officers to life imprisonment and sent another to jail for 15 years over their involvement in arms trafficking, just a week after a separate court martial handed down a death sentence to a soldier for murder.
The latest judgement was delivered by a Special Court Martial in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The trial was held at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai, OPHK.
Court’s verdict on arms trafficking
Delivering the verdict, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, President of the Court Martial, found Sergeant Raphael Ameh, Sergeant Ejiga Musa, and Lance Corporal Patrick Ocheje guilty of illegally selling arms in collaboration with police officers and terrorist groups.
They were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Corporal Omitoye Rufus received a 15-year sentence for his role in the arms trafficking ring.
Death sentence for murder
The Nigerian Army’s latest crackdown on arms trafficking follows closely on the heels of a judgement on September 18, 2025, when Private Lukman Musa of the 3rd Division was sentenced to death by hanging by a General Court Martial at Maxwllell Khobe Cantonment in Jos for the murder of a tricycle rider, Abdulrahman Isa, in Azere town, Bauchi State.
Presided over by Brigadier General Liafis Bello, the court found Musa guilty of culpable homicide and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Evidence revealed that Musa, assisted by an accomplice known as Oba, lured Isa under pretence of helping him to move his belongings, struck him with a wooden object, and strangled him to death. He later concealed the victim’s body in a sack and dumped it between Shira and Yala villages, selling the victim’s tricycle afterward.
Musa was also found with 34 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition without lawful authorisation.
Brigadier General Bello described his actions as “barbaric” and “a disgrace to the Nigerian Army.
“You mercilessly metamorphosed from a defender of citizens to a killer. Your action is an embarrassment and disgrace to the Nigerian Army.”
Musa was sentenced under Section 220 of the Penal Code, receiving two years’ imprisonment and dismissal from service for ammunition possession in addition to the death sentence.
Commitment to discipline, rule of law
Major Aminu Mairuwa, Acting Deputy Director of Legal Services for 3 Division, said the Musa verdict “sends a clear message that no personnel in the Nigerian Army will be allowed to operate outside legal and ethical boundaries.
