The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting blogger Justice Mark Chidiebere under a criminal law section that might result in his execution for disclosing the subpar meals that Nigerian troops were provided on the battlefield.
Recall that the defendant, through his X handle, Chidiebere shared a video of the meals the army was giving soldiers on the front lines. After the publishing, Chidiebere was held by the army without being informed until his family and friends voiced their concerns.
Recall that ENigeria Newspaper reported he was arraigned in court by the DSS on Monday, but the prosecutors preferred three charges against him, according to a charge sheet that FIJ was able to receive on Wednesday.
According to Section 509, Mark may be “liable to the punishment of death or of imprisonment for a term of fourteen years or upwards, with or without other punishment, is guilty of a felony, and is liable, if no other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for seven years”, if convicted.
In addition, Count Three accused Chidiebere of attempting “to commit felony” by publishing statements “likely to cause fear and breach of peace and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 509 of the Criminal Code Act“.
Recall that the Nigerian Army released a statement verifying Chidiebere’s whereabouts for the first time on Saturday.
“While the matter is being investigated for breach of the Armed Forces’ Social Media Policy and an attempt to misinform the public, preliminary report reveals that the soldiers discussed wide range of issues with Justice Chidiebere who seemed to be inciting soldiers to create discontent within the system,”
“An example was a chat bothering on subversion which Chidiebere had with the soldiers. It is important to state that a situation where civilians cultivate vulnerable personnel towards acts of subversion has far-reaching implications on discipline and national security.
Reason for Justice Crack arrest
The Defence Headquarters went further to put togethet an opinion piece supporting the government’s action against the social media influencer was published by the Defense Headquarters.
The author, Tijjani Tanko, stated that the time of Chidiebere’s release was delicate, among other factors.
“Second, timing is everything. Isolated welfare lapses exist in every army – including the US, UK, and Russia. But during war, amplifying those lapses in real time to combat units hands the enemy a propaganda tool,” Tanko wrote.
“Terrorist groups already use such posts to claim ‘the Nigerian Army is starving’ or ‘commanders don’t care’, lowering troop morale and encouraging desertion.”
On Monday, youths stormed the federal court in Abuja to call for the release of Justice Crack.
