PeakNews Online
ABUJA, June 28, 2024 – The Supreme Court has discharged and acquitted Nigerian Army Sergeant Akawu Bala, who had been on death row for 12 years following a conviction by the General Court Martial of the Nigerian Army.
Sergeant Bala’s relief came after he spent 12 years in Kaduna prison awaiting ratification of the death sentence imposed on him. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, ruled in favor of his appeal lodged on March 16, 2017.
Bala was initially accused of shooting Isa Mohammed on December 9, 2012, at the African Petroleum Station in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, where he was stationed with an AK-47 rifle. Mohammed succumbed to his injuries the following day at Saint Gerald’s Catholic Hospital in Kaduna. Bala was subsequently tried for murder under Section 106 of the Armed Forces Act 2014, found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging by the General Court Martial.
On February 17, 2017, the Court of Appeal in Kaduna upheld Bala’s appeal against the death penalty, citing that the charge sheet was not signed by a General Commanding Officer as required by law. Despite this, the Court of Appeal did not discharge him, leading to a further appeal to the Supreme Court.
Bala’s lead counsel, Mr. Reuben Okpanachi Atabo, SAN, argued that the Court of Appeal should have discharged Bala following the nullification of his trial. Atabo referenced Section 193 of the Armed Forces Act 2014, which prohibits the retrial of military personnel after a trial has been declared void.
The Nigerian Army’s counsel, Isaac Udoka, opposed the appeal, requesting a retrial in the interest of justice. However, the Supreme Court, led by Justice Helen Morenikeji Ogunwumiju, agreed with Atabo, stating that the Court of Appeal should have discharged Bala once the trial was declared null and void.
Justice Ogunwumiju invoked Section 193 of the Armed Forces Act 2014, preventing Bala from facing another trial, and ordered his immediate release from Kaduna prison. The panel, consisting of Justices Uwani Musa Abba Aji, Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, Stephen Jonah Ada, and Abubakar Sadiq Umar, concurred with the judgment.
Bala had maintained in his defense that he fired at Mohammed and another person in self-defense during the peak of Boko Haram activity in Kaduna, after they approached him in the dark and ignored his order to retreat.
This landmark judgment underscores the Supreme Court’s commitment to upholding legal standards and ensuring justice is served in accordance with the law.
