Mutiny: No To Death Penalty

On September 15, 2014, a military court
sentenced 12 Nigerian soldiers to death by firing squad. The soldiers allegedly attacked a former General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, Ahmed Mohammed and were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, mutiny and attempt to murder.
While this is an exclusively military affair and one that can hardly be faulted, some Nigerians and organisations have asked that the lives of the soldiers be spared. This they have attributed to the current state of the nation and the nature of what happened.
Prominent among the organisations asking for pardon is the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) which called for the death sentence to be commuted to lighter punishment. According to a the Acting President of the NLC, Chief Promise Adewusi, the execution of the 12 soldiers could result in other problems within the military.
The NLC is not alone in this trend of thought. Even civil rights activists, opinion leaders and ordinary Nigerians have joined to call on the military authorities to take a second look at the death sentence. Added to these calls, is the fact that, the world has come to abhor capital punishment because of the evil it portends for mankind.
That is why The Tide thinks that a lighter punishment should suffice. Happily, some persons are hopeful that the matter would be appealed and that safety may come the way of the soldiers. We throw our weight behind those who want outright pardon for the men.
The fact is clear that on no account would the mutineers not be allowed to die, given military rules.  But the need for a review of their sentence can never be out of place considering the peculiar circumstance under which they found themselves and the public appeal for pardon.
Although we believe that every service man should know the consequence of mutiny, the current scenario should be an exception to the rule. Not only because of pressures of a war situation where survival is the first rule, suspicion of foul play in the death of some of their colleagues and the now credible fact that there are enemy (Boko Haram) agents in the military could have been a motivating factor.
Justice in this case must take into cognizance the fundamental issues that resulted in the situation. Their action at the time saved their lives and that of the prestige of Nigerian nation and it’s military. To now execute the 12 service men will go against the wishes of the Nigerian people. It will not serve natural justice.
Like all well meaning Nigerians, we cannot support mutiny in the military, but we must join millions of other Nigerians to plead for the lives of these men. We believe that it will not be a precedent, because similar situation would not arise again. Nigeria must show restraint in anything that would take the lives of her citizens.
Besides, the nation will want to, at this moment, show gratitude to the military as a whole for defeating Boko Haram. Letting these soldiers live will boost the morale of  the military. In fact, it should be an Independence-Day gift from a grateful country.
Even so, we think that the military cannot afford not to be disciplined, loyal and orderly. There must be a laid down process where the rank and file can channel their grievances; while issues of motivation, modern weaponry and the issue of black legs in the military should be addressed.
As responsible citizens, we believe that laws must be obeyed, but it must not be forgotten that laws are made for the good of man and not the other way round.