EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian Army Flouts Supreme Court Ruling, Refuses To Reinstate Officer Discharged And Acquitted

The Nigerian Army has defied a Supreme Court ruling ordering the reinstatement of Major Akeem Aderogba Oseni, a military officer discharged and previously convicted of manslaughter but later acquitted by the appellate and apex courts.

SaharaReporters learnt that despite the clear judgment of the Supreme Court dismissing the Nigerian Army’s appeal against the Court of Appeal's ruling, which overturned Major Oseni’s conviction and sentence, the military authorities have refused to comply with the order to reinstate the officer and pay his accrued entitlements.

A letter signed by Lieutenant Colonel CW Okonkwo, on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, had earlier indicated the Army’s unwillingness to reinstate Oseni. 

In the correspondence, dated shortly after the Court of Appeal’s judgment, the Army claimed the matter was still pending before the Supreme Court and that the judgment could not be enforced until the apex court delivered its verdict.

The letter reads: “I am directed to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 12 July 2023 in respect of above mentioned subject written on behalf of your client, Major Akeem Aderogba Oseni (N/12127). In your letter, you stated that the Court of Appeal overruled the General Court Martial Findings and Sentences awarded against your client, and thus, discharged and acquitted him. Hence, you appealed to the Chief of Army Staff to reinstate your client into the Nigerian Army and pay all entitlements due to him. 

“It is pertinent to state that the Court of Appeal judgment has been appealed by the Nigerian Army to the Supreme Court. This implies that the status quo on the General Court Martial conviction must be maintained pending the outcome of the appeal which operates as a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal judgment. Accordingly, I am further directed to inform you that your request is discountenanced pending the determination of the appeal by the Supreme Court.”

But in a dramatic turn, the Supreme Court on February 12, 2025, dismissed the Nigerian Army's appeal for failure to compile and transmit the record of appeal, effectively bringing the legal battle to an end and affirming the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision discharging and acquitting Major Oseni.

The certified ruling delivered by Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji read:

“Application filed on 9/10/2023 for an order dismissing this appeal for failure to compile and transmit record of appeal is hereby granted as prayed. The said appeal No. SC/CR/948/2023 is hereby dismissed.”

Yet, months after the dismissal, the Nigerian Army has refused to reinstate Major Oseni. 

This is a clear contempt of court and a dangerous disregard for the rule of law by the military institution.

The Court of Appeal, in its landmark judgment delivered on October 31, 2023, had nullified the ten-year sentence handed to Major Oseni by the General Court Martial sitting in Abuja. 

The court, led by Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, found the conviction flawed and held that the prosecution failed to prove the charge of manslaughter against Oseni.

“From the evidence available to the lower court which was not properly evaluated, Major Aderogba did not intend to cause grievous bodily harm to the deceased as erroneously held by the trial court,” the judgment noted.

The court queried why Oseni was the only one convicted out of the four officers charged with the same offence, despite the absence of any unique or distinguishing conduct on his part. 

His co-defendants, Capt. Amosu, Maj. Osawe, and Lt. Dogary, were all discharged and acquitted at various stages of the military judicial process.

The Court Of Appeal ruled: “On the whole therefore, having resolved the most crucial issue two in favor of the Appellant against the Respondent, I hold that this appeal has merit and ought to be allowed and it is hereby so allowed. 

“In the result, the Judgment of the General Court Martial (GCM) held at the Command Officers' Mess, Asokoro, Abuja, Coram: General Court Martial, (GCM), convened by the Commander, Army Headquarters Garrison Abuja and composed of Brigadier General GA Umelo (N/9052) (as President), Col KA Kazir (N/8741), Col KN Ndamadu, Col I Tanko (N/9863), Col AE Edet (N/10000) (as members), and Major DO Ehicheoya (N11502) (as Judge Advocate), in Charge No. AHQGAR/G1/300/47: Major Akeem Aderogba Oseni (N/12127) & 3 Ors.V. 

“The Nigerian Army delivered on 7/2/2020, in which the Appellant was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the offence of manslaughter punishable under Section 105 (a) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20, LFN 2004, is hereby set aside. In its stead, the Appellant, the 1st Accused person in Charge No. Charge No. AHQGAR/G1/300/47: Major Akeem Aderogba Oseni (N/12127) & 3 Ors V. The Nigerian Army, is hereby discharged and acquitted.”

Background to the case reveals that in 2017, Oseni and others had been ordered by then Chief of Staff, AHQ Garrison, Maj. Gen. I.N. Obot (rtd) to discipline a detainee, Lance Corporal Benjamin Collins, over an attempted jailbreak. 

Oseni, according to records, gave only a brief counselling drill and later observed Collins in distress. He reportedly ensured the deceased was transported to the Defence HQ Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead.

Despite this, Oseni was court-martialled and sentenced on February 7, 2020, while the Army Council confirmed the sentence later that year.

Major Oseni, dissatisfied with both decisions, approached human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who successfully argued the appeal, leading to his exoneration.

Adding salt to injury, a Federal High Court in Abuja also ruled in 2024 that the Nigerian Army and First City Monument Bank (FCMB) violated Oseni's rights when they unlawfully froze his bank account, even though the manslaughter case did not involve any financial transactions.

In the judgment delivered by Justice G.K. Olotu on October 28, 2024, the court stated:

“The 1st Respondent usurped the power of the Court to order a freezing of the account... They probably thought that they are above the law. But the principle of exemplary damages will now tell them and show them that they are not above the law.”

The court awarded N400 million in total damages, N100 million in general damages and N300 million in exemplary damages, jointly and severally against the Nigerian Army and FCMB.