Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised the Nigerian military authorities for what he described as a failure to fully implement presidential pardons granted to 70 convicted soldiers, warning that the ongoing refusal to restore their ranks, benefits and status violates the rule of law and risks deepening Nigeria’s “atmosphere of grand impunity.”

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Falana recounted how the soldiers, initially sentenced to death for alleged cowardice in the face of Boko Haram, had their sentences commuted to 10 years imprisonment by the Chief of Army Staff after petitions revealed “grave injustices” in their trials. The soldiers served the full sentence and were later pardoned in 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari under Section 175 of the Nigerian Constitution.

Falana explained that “Because of the seriousness, the gravity of the issues that we raised, the Chief of Army Staff, while exercising his powers under the Nigerian Armed Forces Act, commuted the death sentence to 10 years’ imprisonment. The soldiers spent the 10 years’ imprisonment.”

“The President considered the representation made by us, and decided, pursuant to Section 175 of the Constitution, to pardon them. And what that means… is that the offence had been forgiven, the consequences completely obliterated.”

However, Falana decried the military’s refusal to restore the soldiers’ full benefits or discharge them appropriately.

“We are now asking you to restore them, which is the essence of the pardon. Because pardon means, they have been, in the words of the Court of Appeal in the case of Fala and Obasanjo, each of them has become ‘novus homo’ — a new man, a new person,” he said.

He alleged that despite the soldiers agreeing to voluntarily disengage from the military — after persuasion due to concerns about reintegration — the authorities wrongfully classified their discharge as compulsory and sought to calculate their entitlements only up to 2014, instead of the 2022 pardon date.

“Some of them received salaries up to 2016. We are asking: on what basis can you discharge those who have left the military voluntarily and still say they were compulsorily discharged? Secondly, why are you not going to calculate their entitlements up to 2022?”

Falana referenced the case of General Eni Ransom-Kuti, who was demoted to colonel but had his rank restored after the pardon. Though he could not return to service due to age, he was paid full entitlements up to 2022.

“What is good for the goose should be good for the gardener,” Falana stated, insisting all 70 soldiers should be treated equally.

On the issue of pensions and promotions lost during the decade of incarceration, Falana maintained that the soldiers were entitled to retirement benefits and potential promotions had they remained in service.

“If the authorities are saying, we are not ready to take you back… then the military must reciprocate in like manner by retiring them as of 2022. Between 2014, when they were jailed, and 2022, what rank would they have attained? That rank must be given.”

He warned that If the military failed to act justly, legal redress would follow, citing past precedents such as the case of General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was declared a ‘novus homo’ following a presidential pardon and subsequently allowed to contest the presidency.

Addressing the soldiers’ current condition, Falana described their post-prison life as “very tough.”

“When 70 of them were released from prison custody, the system simply turned them to the street. These are young people trained to handle weapons. Our law firm had to raise money to ensure each could travel home.”

“We engaged two of them to guard our office, and we’ve made recommendations to help others secure employment.”

Most of the soldiers remain unemployed, Falana revealed, in part due to the delay in issuing discharge certificates.

“It was even difficult to engage them, because they didn’t get their discharge certificates until a few months ago. Now they can seek employment with some security agencies.”

He further argued that the military’s characterisation of their discharge as compulsory undermines the intent of the presidential pardon and could wrongly suggest misconduct.

“They decided to disengage voluntarily. So the discharge certificate must be amended to reflect that, in order to enhance their chances of gaining employment.”

On broader issues of governance, Falana linked the soldiers’ case to what he sees as a larger crisis of legality in Nigeria, pointing to recent events such as the state of emergency in Rivers State and controversial local government laws in Lagos.

“We operate in an atmosphere of grand impunity. The rule of law is hardly observed by governments in our country. It is as if we’re still under a military dictatorship.”

Falana warned against the tendency of authorities to modify or ignore constitutional provisions, especially regarding presidential powers.

“You cannot vary or modify the instrument of pardon granted by the President under the constitution. No lawyer has pointed to any section of the constitution that allows the President to suspend or remove elected officials under a state of emergency.”

“Our courts must stand up this time. Otherwise, we’re going to be in crisis.”

He concluded by supporting recent reforms such as the Lagos Local Government Law, which caps service terms for officials to a constitutionally consistent maximum of eight years.

“The whole idea is to reconcile the law with the constitution of the country. And I think it’s a good development.” (AriseNews TV)