THE Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has added its voice to the call for presidential pardon for soldiers who were jailed for refusing to fight Boko Haram.
MURIC’s call, which was contained in a statement on Thursday by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, was sequel to a letter written by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), to President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking pardon for the soldiers.
A court martial had convicted the 54 soldiers for refusing to fight Boko Haram terrorists. The soldiers, who were found guilty of mutiny, were accused of refusing to help recapture three towns that had been seized by Boko Haram in August 2014.
Troops had complained that they were not being given enough weapons and ammunition to fight Boko Haram.
MURIC said: “We endorse every sentence in the letter written by foremost human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), asking President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon soldiers jailed for refusing to fight Boko Haram with poor weapons. This case has unassailable merit and Mr Falana’s letter has addressed all the necessary issues.
“We strongly believe that the punishment meted out to the soldiers were a miscarriage of justice. We also frown at the way the soldiers were discharged from prison after serving their term without any concern for their welfare. These are soldiers trained as members of the special forces. They were not ordinary soldiers. Releasing them into the society was therefore a most dangerous move. They may fall into wrong hands.
“However, we appeal to the released men to continue to be of good conduct, to remain law abiding and to always remember that Allah has a reason for everything. While they were in jail, many soldiers died fighting the insurgents. Some lost their limbs. But Allah has preserved them. It is also worthy of gratitude to Allah that none of them died in jail.
“We therefore beseech these men to accept the fate that the Supreme Creator allowed to befall them. They should not seek vengeance from society by hurting innocent people. They should not use their special training negatively. Vengeance is a square peg. Justice is a round hole. What you seek to get is not what you obtain in the long run.”
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