Dismissed Without Trial: Civil War Veteran Seeks Justice 31 Years After Army Action

Lawyer’s Petition Exposes Alleged Six-Year Detention, Forged Dismissal of Civil War Veteran”

By Paul Orude, Bauchi

More than three decades after his alleged unlawful detention and dismissal from the Nigerian Army, Corporal Danladi Yelwa (rtd.), a Nigerian Civil War veteran from Dass Local Government Area of Bauchi State, is demanding justice through a formal legal petition, accusing the Army of wrongful accusation, prolonged detention without trial, and dismissal without due process.

In a petition dated August 5, 2022, Yelwa’s lawyer formally wrote to the Chief of Army Staff, seeking redress, reinstatement of service records, and payment of all outstanding entitlements. However, more than three years after the Army acknowledged receipt of the petition, no official response has been communicated, leaving the nonagenarian ex-soldier in poverty and ill health.

The petition, signed by Oluwole Olukunle Moses, Esq., Head of Chamber and Associate at Fir Adegbite Chambers, and obtained by The Sun, detailed Yelwa’s ordeal, which spans decades of alleged institutional injustice.

According to the petition, Yelwa enlisted in the Nigerian Army on November 11, 1968, during the Nigerian Civil War, with service number 63/NA/182244. He served with the 121 Battalion, Okolobia, Awka, under Captain Yusuf, assisted by Captain Audu Potiskum, and participated in military operations that led to the capture of Ogidi.

After the war, his unit was redeployed to Suleja in 1973, later reorganised as 30 Heavy Artillery, and subsequently renamed 311 Artillery Regiment, Kontagora, Niger State.

The petition stated that Yelwa’s ordeal began in May 1993, while he was on duty at the armoury in Kontagora. A pistol, officially signed out by an acting commanding officer, reportedly went missing. Yelwa alleged that the officer refused to accept responsibility and instead shifted blame onto him.

Subsequently, police officers allegedly recovered the missing pistol from a suspect arrested for armed robbery. According to the suspect’s statement to the police, the pistol was picked up at a nightclub in Kontagora after it fell from a drunken man attempting to sit on the bonnet of his car. The suspect reportedly copied the car’s plate number with the intention of returning the pistol but was dissuaded by friends.

The plate number, the petition claimed, matched Yelwa’s vehicle.

Despite police findings that reportedly exonerated Yelwa, he was detained while the suspect was released. He remained in police custody for six months before being taken to the Commissioner of Police, Niger State, who allegedly informed him that he had no case to answer and that his commanding officer was responsible for his detention.

Rather than being released, Yelwa was allegedly handed over to prison authorities on the directive of the Brigade Commandant, Gen. Obiako, and imprisoned for six years (1993–1999) without charge, trial, or conviction.

The petition further claimed that Yelwa’s release in 1999 followed an intervention by the late Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, wife of then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, during a prison visitation, after discovering that he was being held unlawfully.

Upon returning to his unit at 311 Artillery Regiment, Yelwa was reportedly informed that he had already been dismissed from the Army. No dismissal order, court-martial proceedings, or board of inquiry was shown to him.

Further investigations allegedly conducted by an Army-appointed lieutenant later revealed that no valid dismissal order, court-martial ruling, or service record file existed. The petition claimed that a dismissal letter eventually produced was unsigned, unwitnessed, and forged.

The investigating officer reportedly confronted Yelwa’s former commanding officer, by then a Brigadier, who allegedly initially denied knowing Yelwa but later recognised him in person and remained silent when confronted with the allegations.

According to the petition, the lieutenant offered Yelwa the option of suing the Nigerian Army, but the destitute veteran declined, requesting only payment of his entitlements and access to his service records to process his pension and gratuity.

However, the petition alleged that a sergeant later demanded ₦150,000 from Yelwa to “complete” the investigation, threatening that nothing would be done if the money was not paid. Unable to raise the amount, Yelwa said that was the last engagement he had with the Army.

The petition urged the Chief of Army Staff to order a thorough investigation, reinstate Yelwa’s service records, and ensure payment of all salaries, pensions, gratuities, and benefits accrued during his detention and imprisonment.

“All efforts by our client to obtain justice administratively have failed,” the petition stated, appealing to the Army leadership to uphold justice, integrity, and the sanctity of military service.

As of press time, no response had been received from the Nigerian Army or the Ministry of Defence. Efforts by this correspondent to obtain official comments were unsuccessful.

Time is running out for Yelwa, now in his 90s, as his long quest for justice remains unresolved