Twenty-one witnesses have been lined up to testify against 18 soldiers who are being court-martialled for alleged mutiny.
They were said to have opened fire at the utility vehicle of the General Commanding Officer of the Army’s 7 Division in Maiduguri, Borno State, Ahmadu Mohammed, on May 14.
The witnesses include a Major General, two Brigadiers-General, three colonels, two Lieutenant-Colonels, two Majors, and three Captains.
Others are a Lieutenant, two second Lieutenants, one Master Warrant Officer, three Sergeants and a private soldier.
The court is also empowered to call up other witness(es) if the need arises during the proceedings.
The names of the witnesses are being withheld following concerns that revealing their identities might endanger them and compromise the ongoing trial of the soldiers.
The witnesses are expected to back the claims of the prosecution and tell the court-martial that the suspects indeed committed the offences for which they have been charged.
The Commander, Army Headquarters Garrison, B.T. Ndiomu, had on July 20 convened a General Court Martial, GCM, to try the 18 soldiers for allegedly rebelling against the army, disobeying their superiors, threatening the lives of their commander and bringing the army to disrepute.
The court martial, which is already underway, is being presided over by C.C Okonkwo, a Brigadier General.
The army accused the soldiers of attempting to kill the GOC, Mohammed, who was immediately redeployed to another formation after the incident.
The soldiers had blamed Mohammed, a Major General, for the deaths of their colleagues killed in an ambush near Chibok where nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped.
The military court is made up of seven members, two waiting members, a judge advocate and two prosecuting officers.
Others members include: a liaison officer, a contact officer, two officers authorised to sign any amendment, convening officer and eight other soldiers who form a court secretariat.
