A Nigerian general has been dismissed from the army and jailed for losing a major battle in which Boko Haram Islamic extremists killed hundreds of civilians, the military said.
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. He was dismissed from the military for “failure to perform military duties.”
A court-martial sitting in secret on 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.