A Soldier Seeking Justice

A memo from the Department of Military Secretary, Bonny Camp, Lagos, titled: Posting and Appointments, NA Officers (reference numberNA/207/MS and dated 27 August 1999) gave Jock’s new posting as University of Maiduguri. Signed by Brig. Gen. H.U. Clark, the memo declared that “the posting and appointments of the underlisted officers are authorised with effect from the dates shown against their names.” Jock, who was the 79th entry on the list, was to resume in Maiduguri on 1 September 1999.

Upon his completion of the course, the university wrote to the Army to formally inform it that Jock had completed his study. The university followed that up with another letter detailing Jock’s grades. Both letters, signed by Dr. Saliba James, were directed to Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Department of Army Operations, Ministry of Defence, Lagos.

Jock wrote a letter of appreciation to the Army Headquarters and also applied to be posted on a United Nations peace-keeping mission.

But it was at that point that his deposit of luck began to wane. The Army Headquarters replied that it was surprised that Jock went to the university when his request for sponsorship was rejected by the Army. “I am directed to refer to Reference D, which forwarded the above-named officer’s letter of appreciation to COAS and to express the dismay of AHQ at the release of the officer even after his sponsorship had been withdrawn,” read the memo with reference number NA/230/164/EDN. It was signed by Brig-Gen. S.B.S Bilyok.

Jock was stunned. But the COAS’ still had some ammo left. The last paragraph of his memo further informed Jock that in the light of his disobedience of a direct order, he would face immediate disciplinary action. Jock told this medium that he did not receive any order withdrawing his sponsorship from either the office of the COAS or that of his commandant.

All the same, disciplinary action against him began 5 June 2001. Afraid that the request by COAS could end in summary trial, Jock requested for a court martial. The Army, however, summoned him for summary trial, in apparent violation of Section 117 of the Armed Forces Decree 105 of 1993, which states that an officer reserves the right to be tried by a court martial. Three weeks after receiving the notice, he appeared for the trial. The Army also frustrated Jock’s other moves to seek administrative redress.

His luckless run continued, when the Army, via a memo with reference number NA/216/A, ordered him to stop further communication with its headquarters. The reason, said the memo signed by Col. U.N. Muku, was that the Army authorities considered the matter a closed case. “I am directed to acknowledge receipt of Reference A and to request you, please, once again, warn Lt. Col. SS Jock (N/6788) to stop communicating this Headquarters on the matter. I am to add that the matter is regarded as closed and no further correspondence will be entertained on it again,” read the memo.

Convinced that there was a deliberate design to frustrate him out of the army, Jock decided to seek help from outside. He contacted the late Colonel Yohanna A. Madaki, a lawyer. After studying the matter, Madaki fired a protest letter to Major-General Esua Dowyaro, Commandant, Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery, Kontagora. “The aim of this letter is to intimate you that I am very interested in this case and that no matter what it will cost me, I will spend my fortune to pursue this case,” Madaki wrote.

Sadly though, death snuffed out Madaki’s vow. About the same time Jock was battling to save his career, he was also contending with an eye injury he sustained in 1991 while undergoing military training in Pakistan. To restore his vision, he travelled to Britain twice, where he had extra-capsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intra-ocular lens implant. He was also in Egypt to correct complications from the previous surgery.

But in 2004, another complication resulted in what a military doctor, Lt. S. Odiase, identified as

Pyrexis of Unknown Origin, for which Jock had to, once again, seek foreign medical attention.

Jock’s eye problems appeared to have provided the Army with the weapon to kick him into touch.

Aside refusing to grant him further leave for treatment abroad, he became a subject of a curious medical diagnosis at the Military Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, where an Army consultant ophthalmologist recommended to military authorities that Jock required psychiatric evaluation. “His visual findings are consistent with his ocular history, but he continues to complain of persistent headache and insomnia which he finds most disturbing. In addition to the ocular findings, I recommend sir, that a medical board, including a psychiatric assessment should be constituted for him,” the opthamologist wrote in a memo with reference number MIL/HR/185/M, dated 5 May 2004.

But investigations conducted by this medium reveal that though insomnia, as identified by the opthamologist, could be an indicator of a psychiatric problem, emphatic diagnosis and/or recommendation for evaluation can only be made by a qualified professional. Apparently in a hurry to nail Jock, the Army took the views of the ophthalmologist and immediately constituted a panel to evaluate Jock, who protested through his counsel, Alhassan Kwasau, to the Chief of Army Staff.

Jock argued that the Army was unfair to him and threatened to institute legal proceedings against the service. His protest was of no effect, as the Army insisted that the psychiatric evaluation recommended was in Jock’s best interest. The Army then constituted a psychiatric board and ordered Jock to report for assessment without delay.

Desperate to save his career, Jock appealed to Senator L.C. Balat, of Southern Kaduna constituency, who wrote a letter to Army authorities asking for redress. His appeal drew no response. Jock also sent an appeal to the Senate Committee on Defence for help. The committee’s enquiry elicited response from the Army. Lieutenant-General Martin Luther Agwai, Chief of Army Staff replied that Jock was not promoted because he failed to make the requisite grades in the promotion tests. Agwai also said the postgraduate diploma Jock held was the least of the qualifications for promotion, especially as his peers held higher qualifications and that all issues raised by Jock had been addressed by the Army.

Agwai expressed dismay over Jock’s failure to restrict his demand for redress to within the Army. But the Army chief fell short of addressing the withdrawal of sponsorship, which triggered the officer’s problems. “The issues raised by him were addressed and resolved in the best interest of the officer and service. It is usually not in keeping with our tradition that service personnel go to outside agencies to seek redress on their service matters. I am taken aback, therefore, at the approach adopted by Lt. Col. Jock despite the fact that the issues at stake were resolved,” Agwai said in his letter to the Senate Defence Committee.

Left with no other option, Jock went to court in 2004, asking it to compel the Army to implement recommendations made by Gen. Obiakor, who asked the service to consider the officer’s case on merit rather than bring in extraneous matters. “Having thoroughly interviewed the officer and scrutinised his documented evidence, I am convinced that the officer has a good case that merits the COAS’ compassionate consideration. This is very necessary, as the officer’s career may be in jeopardy if the issues involved are not resolved on time,” Obiakor recommended.

Jock also asked the court to declare that the National Assembly has the power to mediate in any crisis in the Army contrary to the view held by its authorities, an order setting aside the recommendation that he undergo psychiatric evaluation and accord recognition to his postgraduate qualification.

But while the case was still pending, the payment of Jock’s salary was stopped in 2005. This is against an Army regulation, which states that even where men and officers of the service are facing trial or court martial, they remain Army personnel as is the case with Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Sergeant Barnabas Jabila Msheila.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi who, by then, had taken over the case, amended Jock’s earlier demands. Apart from asking the court to compel the Army to continue paying his salary, he requested the court to compel the Army to pay N2million in damages. The money was to compensate Jock for the psychological trauma, medical treatment, salary and other entitlements.

When contacted, Brigadier-General Emeka Nwagbama, Army spokesman, said he would need time to familiarise himself with details of the case. Subsequently, however, he neither answered calls to his phone nor acknowledged text messages sent to him. Shortly before going to press, he responded and promised to call back as, according to him, he was attending to some urgent matters. He, however, sent a text message that said he could not respond to the magazine’s enquiry because he was too busy preparing for the Army Day Celebrations. “I appreciate your attempt at getting the Army’s reaction and the patience all these days. However, I apologise that due to the preparations for the Nigerian Army Day Celebration, NADCEL, I have been extremely busy and have not obtained the information,” his message read.