A Special Court-Martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three Nigerian soldiers to life imprisonment for selling arms and ammunition to terrorist groups, while a fourth soldier received a 15-year jail term.
The trial, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, Acting GOC of the 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai, was held at the Theatre Command Headquarters Officers’ Mess in Maiduguri.
Delivering judgment, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, President of the Court-Martial, found Sergeant Raphael Ameh, Sergeant Ejiga Musa, and Lance Corporal Patrick Ocheje guilty of multiple offences, including theft, unlawful arms dealing, and aiding the enemy—all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.
Corporal Omitoye Rufus was handed a 15-year sentence for his role.
Investigations revealed that Sergeant Ameh, who worked as an armourer at the 7 Division Garrison, conspired with a late colleague to divert weapons from the division’s armoury.
He reportedly collaborated with some police officers to conceal the weapons in bags of beans before smuggling them to Enugu and Ebonyi States for criminal use.
Bank records linked him to over 100 suspicious transactions between July 2022 and June 2024.
Similarly, Sergeant Musa, armourer of the 195 Battalion, was found to have partnered with Lance Corporal Ocheje and police officers to sell an AK-47 rifle and ammunition.
Records showed Musa received over ₦500,000 before he was arrested attempting another illegal sale.
Corporal Rufus was convicted of selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to a police officer, while Lance Corporal Ocheje was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes and stealing an AK-47 rifle from a fellow soldier.
The court ruled that their actions posed a severe threat to military operations and national security, amounting to aiding the enemy.
Brigadier General Abdullahi condemned the soldiers as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust and discipline of the Nigerian Army, stressing that the force maintains a zero-tolerance stance on arms trafficking to adversaries.