Court-martial gives soldier 3 years’ jail for mutilating boy

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – A Nigerian court-martial has sentenced a soldier to three years’ jail for meting out punishment that left a 10-year-old without the use of his hands. One hand was amputated.

A court ruling published Wednesday also stripped all rank from Staff Sergeant Umar Sule.

The father of the crippled boy, Usman Muhammed, expressed satisfaction with Tuesday’s ruling.

The court-martial was petitioned by the government-funded National Human Rights Commission, which said it is also pursuing monetary compensation for the family.

The court heard that Sale Muhammed had confessed to stealing 2,000 naira ($6.60) from the soldier. The sergeant tied the boys’ hands with a rubber band, bound him to a pole for more than seven hours and flogged him. On his release, doctors amputated one hand and declared the other useless.

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