Although the Supreme Court unequivocally dismissed the Nigerian Army’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision that quashed Major Oseni’s conviction and sentence, military authorities have continued to defy the order to reinstate him and settle his outstanding entitlements.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The Nigerian Army has refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling mandating the reinstatement of Major Akeem Aderogba Oseni, a military officer previously convicted of manslaughter but later cleared by both the Court of Appeal and the apex court.

Despite the Supreme Court’s clear dismissal of the Army’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision overturning Oseni’s conviction, SaharaReporters has learned that the military has yet to reinstate him or settle his accrued entitlements.

According to ”NIVONEWS” a letter signed by Lieutenant Colonel C.W. Okonkwo, on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, previously signaled the Army’s reluctance to comply. Dated shortly after the Court of Appeal ruling, the correspondence asserted that the case remained unresolved at the Supreme Court, and thus the verdict could not yet be enforced.

The letter read:
“I am directed to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 12 July 2023 regarding the above subject written on behalf of your client, Major Akeem Aderogba Oseni (N/12127). You stated that the Court of Appeal overruled the General Court Martial’s conviction and acquitted your client. Consequently, you appealed to the Chief of Army Staff for his reinstatement and payment of all due entitlements.

“It is pertinent to state that the Court of Appeal judgment has been appealed by the Nigerian Army to the Supreme Court. This implies that the status quo on the General Court Martial conviction must be maintained pending the outcome of the appeal, which operates as a stay of execution. Accordingly, your request is discountenanced until the Supreme Court determines the matter.”

However, the legal battle came to a definitive end on February 12, 2025, when the Supreme Court dismissed the Army’s appeal for failure to compile and transmit the record of proceedings. This action affirmed the appellate court’s judgment clearing Oseni.

The certified ruling, delivered by Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji, stated:
“Application filed on 9/10/2023 for an order dismissing this appeal for failure to compile and transmit record of appeal is hereby granted as prayed. The said appeal No. SC/CR/948/2023 is hereby dismissed.”

Despite this conclusive ruling, the Nigerian Army has continued to ignore the order to reinstate Major Oseni—an act viewed as blatant contempt of court and a dangerous affront to the rule of law.

The Court of Appeal had earlier, on October 31, 2023, nullified the 10-year sentence imposed on Oseni by a General Court Martial sitting in Abuja. Led by Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, the appellate court found that the prosecution failed to establish a credible case of manslaughter against Oseni.

“From the evidence available to the lower court which was not properly evaluated, Major Aderogba did not intend to cause grievous bodily harm to the deceased as erroneously held by the trial court,” the ruling stated.

The court questioned why Oseni was singularly convicted out of four officers initially charged with the same offence, despite there being no distinctive conduct attributed to him.

His co-accused—Captain Amosu, Major Osawe, and Lieutenant Dogary—had all been discharged and acquitted at different stages of the military judicial process.

The appellate court concluded:
“Having resolved the most crucial issue in favour of the appellant, this appeal has merit and is hereby allowed.

“The judgment of the General Court Martial (GCM) delivered on 7/2/2020, which sentenced the appellant to 10 years’ imprisonment for manslaughter under Section 105(a) of the Armed Forces Act, is hereby set aside. In its place, the appellant is discharged and acquitted.”

Background details reveal that in 2017, Major Oseni and others were instructed by then Chief of Staff of Army Headquarters Garrison, Major General I.N. Obot (rtd), to discipline a detainee—Lance Corporal Benjamin Collins—over an attempted jailbreak.

Records show that Oseni administered only a brief corrective drill and later noticed that Collins appeared to be in medical distress. He arranged for the detainee’s transfer to the Defence Headquarters Medical Centre, where Collins was pronounced dead.

Nonetheless, Oseni was court-martialed and sentenced on February 7, 2020. The Army Council later confirmed the sentence.

Unsatisfied with the proceedings, Oseni sought legal redress through renowned human rights lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who successfully secured his exoneration on appeal.

Further compounding the injustice, a Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in 2024 that both the Nigerian Army and First City Monument Bank (FCMB) violated Oseni’s fundamental rights by freezing his bank account without legal basis, despite the absence of any financial element in the manslaughter charge.

In a judgment delivered on October 28, 2024, Justice G.K. Olotu stated:
“The 1st Respondent usurped the power of the Court to order a freezing of the account… They probably thought that they are above the law. But the principle of exemplary damages will now tell them and show them that they are not above the law.”

The court awarded N400 million in damages—N100 million in general damages and N300 million in exemplary damages—jointly against the Nigerian Army and FCMB.

”NIVONEWS REPORTS’