Nigeria sentences soldier to death over suspect’s killing

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – A Nigerian military court has sentenced to death a soldier accused in the killing of an arrested Boko Haram suspect.

Court Martial president Brig. Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi ruled Friday that the soldier had breached Nigerian army laws in the killing of the suspect, who was in the custody of his unit in Damboa.

The court martial in Maiduguri was set up last year by Nigeria’s army following several allegations of extrajudicial killings by soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

The court also found four other soldiers guilty of various misconducts, including stealing and unlawful assault of civilians. Among them, two were given sentences that included a lowering in rank. Another was sentenced to 15 years for complicity in the murder of a minor.