Court Orders Army To Reinstate 70 Pardoned Soldiers

The decision was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Tayo Soyemi of Falana & Falana Chambers, counsel to the claimants.

The National Industrial Court (NIC) in Lagos has ordered the Nigerian Army to reinstate 70 soldiers who were convicted by courts-martial in 2014 but later received an unconditional presidential pardon from former President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a judgment delivered on July 20, Justice Sanda Yelwa held that the pardon, granted under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution, erased the legal consequences of the soldiers' convictions, sentences, and dismissals, restoring their legal status and entitling them to return to service.

The decision was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Tayo Soyemi of Falana & Falana Chambers, counsel to the claimants.

The suit, marked NICN/LA/54/2023, was instituted by the 70 soldiers against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) after the military allegedly failed to act on their request for reinstatement following the presidential pardon.

The claimants asked the court to declare that the pardon nullified their convictions and dismissals, compel their reinstatement, and order the payment of salaries and other entitlements from December 17, 2014.

The soldiers were convicted by various courts-martial in 2014 on charges including conspiracy and mutiny. Although they were initially sentenced to death, the sentences were later commuted to 10 years' imprisonment.

Following the completion of their prison terms, Buhari granted them an unconditional presidential pardon through the Instrument of Grant of Pardon, 2022, published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette on July 29, 2022.

According to the statement, the soldiers, through Falana & Falana Chambers, wrote to the Chief of Army Staff on November 7, 2022, seeking reinstatement and payment of their outstanding entitlements. Despite acknowledging receipt of the letter, the Army did not respond.

Lead counsel for the claimants, Funmi Falana, SAN, argued that the presidential pardon extinguished every legal consequence arising from the convictions, including the soldiers' dismissal from service.

The Federal Government, represented by Omobolanle Aina, opposed the suit, contending that while a presidential pardon forgives an offence and restores civil rights, it neither erases the historical fact of a conviction nor automatically guarantees reinstatement into public service.

The court also noted that the Chief of Army Staff neither entered an appearance nor filed a defence in the matter.

In his ruling, Justice Yelwa held that the official gazette was conclusive evidence that all 70 claimants benefited from the presidential pardon. He further found that the Nigerian Army failed to challenge the evidence or justify its refusal to act on the reinstatement request.

The judge ruled that the soldiers' dismissals were direct consequences of their convictions and could not stand once those convictions had been nullified by the presidential pardon.

While acknowledging that the actual process of reinstatement would require administrative action by the Nigerian Army, the court held that the claimants had acquired an enforceable legal right to return to service because the constitutional impediment to their employment had been removed.

However, the court declined to award salary arrears covering the period between December 17, 2014, and July 17, 2022, ruling that the soldiers were not entitled to salaries while they were imprisoned and not performing official duties. Justice Yelwa also held that the instrument granting the pardon did not provide for retrospective payment of salaries.

The court consequently ordered the immediate reinstatement of the 70 soldiers, with effect from July 18, 2022, and directed the defendants to pay all salaries, allowances, and other emoluments accruing from that date until their actual reinstatement.