NIGERIAN COURT OF APPEAL’S CASE JUDGMENT ANALYSIS: PRIVATE HARUNA INUSA V NIGERIAN ARMY APPEAL NO. CA/K/467/C/2018
Keywords:
Armed Forces Act, Court martial, Nigerian Army, Pte Haruna InusaAbstract
The Armed Forces Act, Chapter A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, is an Act of the
National Assembly that encompasses Laws that guide members of the Armed Forces of
Nigeria, made up of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force. It forms the
major part of military law in Nigeria. Though members of the Armed Forces are bound by the
doctrine of compact which makes them to be bound by both civil and military laws, they are
usually prosecuted in courts martial when they commit offences, relying mainly on the Armed
Forces Act. Unlike other laws in Nigeria, the Armed Forces Act in Section 169 provides for
limitation of trial of other offences after three years of commission except for mutiny, failure
to suppress mutiny or desertion. This became a problem as some accused persons who
committed some grievous offences like murder tried to frustrate trial until after three years and
when brought to court martial, such accused persons would simply plead time bar and cite
Section 169 of the Act and they would be discharged and acquitted as the court martial would
not have jurisdiction in that situation. That is the problem that brought about this article. 1
Division of the Nigerian Army Legal Services thought outside the box in this case and charged
the accused outside the Act, using Penal Code Law instead and in a move that changed the
Law, Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment of the court martial and retained the conviction
and sentence of the accused which has now opened a new chapter of Military Law in Nigeria.
Doctrinal and teleological research methods were used in this work. Doctrinal by referring to
the law report and teleological as the writer supervised this particular prosecution at the court
martial. The work found that thinking outside the box brought about the success and that there
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