A lieutenant colonel of the Nigerian army dismissed in 2015 has died
- Ojecho Baba-Ochankpa died while waiting for justice along with 38 other dismissed officers
- The dismissed officers were accused of partisanship in the 2015 general elections
Ojecho Adah Baba-Ochankpa
During the 2015 general elections, some officers of the Nigerian army were accused of partisanship.
About 22 of them were subsequently dismissed from service, Ojecho Baba-Ochankpa a lieutenant colonel and 21 other officers.
Their dismissal was controversial and the lieutenant colonel continued to petition the President for justice. Sadly, on Monday, January 30, he went to bed and died before dawn on Tuesday, January 31.
According to Premium Times, his brother Mr Paul Ochankpa, said the deceased soldier was dismissed without any query, trial or indictment.
He also said that President Buhari from whom he sought redress in accordance with the law, did not act on his petition for months.
The deceased lieutenant colonel died in the United Kingdom where he had been since last year. His brother said that his late brother had not been sick “at all” before his passing.
According to one of his colleagues, late Baba-Ochankpa was reportedly in the United Kingdom studying for a Master’s degree at Coventry University “to keep himself busy, while waiting for redress after petitioning the President.”
The late Ochankpa was forced out of service as a lieutenant colonel, along with 38 officers by the Army Council in June 2015.
The army spokesperson, Sani Usman, a brigadier-general, hinted that the officers were fired on the grounds of arms procurement fraud and professional misconduct in the 2015 elections.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian soldier, Egbechi Oze, has been sentenced to jail by an army general court martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno state after he fled his duty post.
The private was absent for 270 days when he fled his post because of Boko Haram and took refuge in a state in the south east.
The soldier was among those that were recorded as missing after Boko Haram terrorists attacked a military base in Gwoza.
The court said that in spite of the fact that Oze had abandoned his duty post for almost a year, he still continued to enjoy his benefits.
