Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Could Buhari Be Discharged From the Army? (See What the Law says)

#Nigeria

On 21 Jan 2015 05:53, "Okey Iheduru" <okeyiheduru@gmail.com> wrote:

Given the damning revelation by the Director of Nigerian Army Public Relations that, inter alia, "there is no available record to show that [the correct or right] process was followed" in the enlistment of Major-General Mohammed Buhari (rtd.) into the Nigerian Army, questions are now being asked whether the APC Presidential candidate could be de-ranked and discharged from the army in terms of the law regarding validity of his attestation and enlistment.

Certainly, Buhari, as SQUEAKY-CLEAN DICTATOR, would have had no qualms whatsoever de-ranking and discharging the "offender" with or without trial (court martial) PLUS 100 years imprisonment in Kirikiri Max!

In any case, here's what the law, ARMED FORCES ACT (An Act to provide for the command, maintenance and administration of the Armed Forces of the Federation) of 6th July 1994 says:

38. Validity of attestation and enlistment

(1) Where a person has on attestation made the prescribed declaration and thereafter receives pay as a member of the Armed Forces-

(a) the validity of his enlistment shall not be called in question on the grounds of an error or omission in his attestation paper;

(b) after the expiration of a period of three months from the date on which he made the declaration, he shall be deemed to have been validly enlisted notwithstanding any noncompliance with the requirements of this Act or any other ground whatsoever (not being an error or omission in his attestation paper), and, accordingly, he shall be subject to service law under this Act until his discharge under

this Act.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prejudicing the determination of any question as to the term for which a person was entitled or as preventing the discharge of a person who has not claimed his discharge.

39. Fraudulent or irregular enlistment, etc.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Act, liability for prosecution shall lie in the case of an enlisted person whose enlistment into any service of the Armed Forces is founded on fraudulent misrepresentation of actual facts or any other irregularity which otherwise shall have disentitled or disqualified the person from being enlisted nor shall such false representation regularise his intention to commit an offence, vacate or evade military duty of

any kind.

89. Making of false statement on enlistment

A person who, when before a recruiting officer for the purpose of being attested in pursuance of Part IX of this Act, has knowingly given a false answer to a question contained in the attestation paper and put to him by or by the direction of the recruiting officer is, if he has since become and remains subject to service law under this Act, guilty of an offence under this section and liable, on conviction by a court-martial, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to any less punishment provided by this Act.

Where are the Criminal Law experts? Over to you.

--

Okey Iheduru, 

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