Afro music legend's nephew arrested over case of Boko Haram arms

October 16, 2015 11:09 PM

Brigadier General, Enitan Ransome-Kuti was convicted at a five-member court martial in Abuja on Thursday for “loss of equipment” during the attack in Baga, Borno state, in January, 2015.

Senior Nigerian army officer and nephew of Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti, has been jailed for six months after allowing weapons to fall into the hands of Boko Haram Islamists during a deadly attack on Friday.

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Brigadier General, Enitan Ransome-Kuti was convicted at a five-member court martial in Abuja on Thursday for “loss of equipment” during the attack in Baga, Borno state, in January, 2015.

The officer was also convicted of failure to discharge his duties but cleared of a third count of “cowardly behaviour”, Kuti's lawyer, Femi Falana told AFP.

The attack on Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, saw the town and surrounding villages, overrun and destroyed by hundreds of Boko Haram fighters, including a military base.

Militants were later seen in a propaganda video picking through the armoury at the base, which was used by troops from Nigeria, Niger and Chad.

Hundreds of people are said to have been killed in what is seen as the Islamists worst atrocity in the six-year insurgency, although there is no exact death toll.

Falana said Ransome-Kuti had been in custody for six months and should be released for time served but the conviction and sentence had to be confirmed first by a military panel.

According to Falana, an appeal would be lodged, as it was “contradictory” to convict his client of losing equipment but clear him of cowardly behaviour.

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“Boko Haram outnumbered his men. They had more superior weapons than the unserviceable equipment of the Nigerian Army” which prompted the withdrawal, Falana added.