Trial of soldiers who committed mutiny postponed

Nigeria’s military authorities have postponed till Thursday the General Court Martial of some 60 soldiers charged with alleged mutiny.

The trial was to have been held at the Mogadishu Cantonment today in Abuja.

The postponement of the trial was confirmed to newsmen on Tuesday by a military source, who did not want to be named.

However, when contacted, the spokesman of the Garrison, Col. Aliyu Yusuf, claimed ignorance of the court martial but promised to inform journalists, whenever a date was fixed for the trial.

The source also said lawyers representing the accused soldiers met with legal officers of the court martial on Tuesday morning and agreed to shift trial till Thursday because of the independence holiday on Wednesday.

One of the lawyers appearing for the soldiers, who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that the trial was postponed till Thursday.

“When I got here (trial venue) this morning, I was told that the court martial has been postpone till Thursday because of the independence anniversary coming up tomorrow, Wednesday," he said.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who was at the venue of the trial at about 10. 45 a. m. reports that the court was under lock and key.

NAN learnt that the soldiers who are standing trial were alleged to have committed mutiny by “refusing to join troops for an operation’’ in Maiduguri on Aug. 4.

P. M.