By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
A Nigerian military tribunal on Tuesday sentenced 12 soldiers to death and another to 28 years after finding them guilty of mutiny, among other charges.
Five others were acquitted having been cleared of the charges which included criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder, false accusation and insubordination.
The 18 soldiers were court-martialled following a May 14 attack on their General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Ahmed Mohammed and some of his aides.
Mohammed escaped unhurt but his bullet proof car was severally fired at and some of his aides were reportedly injured in the gun attack.
The attack took place inside the newly-created 7th army unit domiciled in Maiduguri, the provincial capital of the insurgency-wracked northeastern Borno state.
The court martial, chaired by Major General C. C. Okwonkwo and comprising eight other top officers, said the 12 sentenced to death are particularly "guilty of attempting to kill the GOC, criminal conspiracy and mutiny."
The soldiers' grudges on that day included that troops were not properly armed to confront Boko Haram insurgents who were killing soldiers en masse; that there had not been regular troop rotation to allow rest; and that their allowances were being withheld by their seniors.
The tribunal, which was held in the capital Abuja and wasn't open to the media, dismissed the allegations as "false accusations."
The sentence is subject to approval by higher military authorities and may well be appealed by the defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Defense spokesman Chris Olukolade had repeatedly in the past denied media reports of the court martial.
He has not responded to Anadolu Agency calls and text messages requesting his comment on this verdict.
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