Army buries soldier tortured to death by senior officers

The Nigerian Army, on Wednesday, lay to rest Lance Corporal Benjamin Collins, who was tortured to death by three senior officers at the Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja, in 2017.

Collins was buried with full military honors at the Guards Brigade cemetery along Kubwa Expressway by soldiers from the Army Headquarters Garrison Battalion.

The funeral was attended by his mother, Mrs Kate Dioma; uncle, Justice Daniel Isiagor of the Federal High Court; lawyer, Dr Johnson Oyewole; and representatives of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

The national flag was presented to the deceased’s mother by Lt. Col. S. Shuaibu on behalf of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Oyewole, who fought to ensure justice for the deceased, thanked the COAS and the Army Headquarters Garrison Battalion for approving the funeral.

A general court-martial had in February sentenced Majors Akeem Oseni and Ogbemudia Osawe, and Second Lieutenant Nuhu Dogary to 10 years’ imprisonment for torturing Collins to death.

The officers were found guilty of manslaughter by the GMC comprised of the President, Brig. Gen. G. Umelo; Brig. Gen. S. Aliyu; Brig. Gen, A. Edet; Brig. N. Mohammed; and Cols. K. Ndamadu, T. Agbor, and I. Tanko.

The convicts were said to have moved Collins from a guardroom at Mogadishu Barracks to a bush near the Ihejirika Quarters along the Abuja-Nyanya Expressway, where he was assaulted while in handcuffs and leg chains.

Collins, who hailed from Rivers State, died after the assault, which took place on February 23, 2017, and his corpse was deposited in Asokoro General Hospital morgue.

After the incident, the officers reported to their superiors that Collins, who was held for over two years for travelling to Lagos to see his sick aunt without official permission, had escaped from custody.    ,