Fela’s nephew sentenced to jail for losing Boko Haram battle

Brig. Gen. Enitan Ransome Kuti — a nephew of Afrobeat music legend Fela Ransome-Kuti — was sentenced to six months’ jail for losing weapons to Boko Haram, said army spokesman Col Sani Usman on Saturday. It was also announced that he was dismissed for “failure to perform military duties.”

A court-martial sitting in secret Thursday found Ransome-Kuti not guilty of cowardice and found he was right to withdraw his men in the face of Boko Haram’s superior numbers and firepower.

Not part of the case was the civilian deaths at the Jan. 2 battle for Baga, which was headquarters for a multinational force. The government said 150 people were killed but witnesses put the number as high as 2,000.

Defense lawyer Femi Falana accused the military of discriminating since it has dismissed other courts-martial. “Since the other courts-martial have been dissolved … it is discriminatory, inequitable and illegal to continue with the trial of Brigadier-General Ransome-Kuti,” Falana is quoted as saying.

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