Lance Corporal Martins Idakpini, who had been held in military detention since June 2020, has been released by the Nigerian Army.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the soldier had been detained on the orders of former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.
Idakpini, who spent three years in military custody, expressed relief at returning home.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, he confirmed his release and credited the new Chief of Army Staff, Maj Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, for ordering his freedom.
“They came to release me today, led by my OC Band, Major Gideon. I am still making efforts to ensure that other soldiers are released. We have been forgiven already. I am at home at my barracks in Sokoto,” he added.
“I went for almost 12 to 13 court sittings and the case was statute-barred. I was arrested on June 23, 2020,” he noted.
The soldier’s troubles began in June 2020 after he went viral for publicly criticising Buratai’s leadership and the Nigerian Army’s inability to combat and eliminate the Boko Haram terrorist group effectively. Subsequently, it was reported on September 7, 2020, that the military planned to court-martial Idakpini. Colonel Yabaji, the head of the Sokoto barracks where he was detained, allegedly instructed eight soldiers to subject him to torture as per Buratai’s orders.
Human rights lawyer Tope Akinyode had obtained a court order on July 22, 2020, from the Abuja Federal High Court, demanding that the army grant Idakpini immediate access to his lawyer and family. However, the military had refused to comply with the court order, prolonging his detention.
