ABUJA, Nigeria — A defense attorney says a court-martial that sentenced 54 soldiers to death will try another 43 soldiers and officers also accused of refusing to fight Islamic extremists in Nigeria.
Court-martial charges against the soldiers sentenced Wednesday night all were connected to their refusal to deploy to recapture three towns seized by Boko Haram in August.
The lawyer for the condemned men, Femi Falana, said five men were acquitted.
Falana said Thursday another 43 soldiers including a few officers remain on trial for allegedly “conspiring to commit mutiny against the authorities of 7 Division,” which is on the front line of the fighting in Nigeria’s northeast.
Troops regularly complain that they are outgunned by Boko Haram and are not supported with enough ammunition or food.
