The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by the Nigerian Army seeking to reinstate the conviction of Major Akeem Oseni, who was previously found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of a junior colleague but later acquitted.
Oseni was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison by a General Court Martial on February 7, 2020, following a 2017 incident involving the disciplinary action of Lance Corporal Benjamin Collins.
He and three other officers—Major O. Osawe, Captain S. Amosu, and Lieutenant Dogary—had been instructed to punish Collins for allegedly attempting a jailbreak.
According to court documents, Oseni halted the disciplinary process soon after it began, counseled Collins, and called a superior officer, who reprimanded the soldier and ordered his return to detention.
Later, during routine inspections, Oseni was informed that Collins was struggling with his leg restraints.
He promptly called the officer in charge of the detention facility and arranged for Collins to be taken to the Defence Headquarters Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Following the court-martial, Oseni was convicted of manslaughter, while Captain Amosu was acquitted. The two other officers, Major Osawe and Lieutenant Dogary, were later discharged and acquitted by the Army Council on November 24, 2020.
Oseni challenged his conviction at the Court of Appeal, which overturned the ruling and declared him innocent.
However, the Nigerian Army contested this decision at the Supreme Court in an attempt to restore the conviction.
The appeal was ultimately dismissed due to procedural deficiencies, as the Army failed to compile and submit the necessary records.
Delivering the lead judgment on Wednesday, Justice Uwani Aji stated, “The application filed on 9/10/2023 for an order dismissing this appeal for failure to compile and transmit the record of appeal is hereby granted as prayed. The said appeal No. SC/CR/948/2023 is hereby dismissed.”
Oseni was represented by a legal team comprising David Ogundipe, Abdulwahab Abdulakeem, Aisha Okuribido, and Oluwafemi Oluwadamisi.
