Joy in the heart of the Soldiers and their families of over 2,500 soldiers who were
asked to withdraw from service for alleged offences committed under the
counter-insurgency operations code named Operation Zaman Lafiya as they have been ask to return to the military.
The panel set up by the Army, which began sitting in Kaduna
on August 17, has also screened and reinstated 102 officers, who were sentenced
or facing prosecution in relation to the operations in the North-East.
Already, the reinstated soldiers and senior officers, it was
learnt, had commenced retraining at the Nigerian Army Training Centre,
Kontangora, Niger State.
The 2,500 soldiers were among the over 4,000 who responded
to a memo from the Army authorities inviting soldiers for a review of recent
disciplinary cases, which emanated from the counter terrorism operations.
The NA had said on August 1, 2015 that the service would
constitute a panel to review all recent disciplinary cases in the service.
But the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani
Usman, cautioned that the directive to review disciplinary cases should not be
mistaken for a “total reinstatement of dismissed and deserter soldiers.”
Punch learnt that more dismissed personnel of the Army might
be brought back to the service as the screening panel would continue with the
review of cases on Monday (today).
A source in the Nigerian Army, who confided in Punch, said,
“The panel has cleared 2,500 soldiers who were dismissed from their units for
minor offences alleged to have been committed under Operation Zaman Lafiya.
“The review panel also cleared 102 officers who were either
asked to withdraw, dismissed or facing prosecution for various offences under
the operation.”
Sani Usman said, "This is an ongoing exercise; they
want to ensure that justice is done. I cannot give you any figure, the
authorities are waiting for the committee’s report; they will conclude sitting
very soon.
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