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The National Industrial Court has ordered the Nigerian Army to reinstate another senior officer, Muhammed Suleiman. This is the fifth such judgement since the military authorities illegally dismissed several officers in 2016. Justice Sanusi Kado delivered the judgement on Wednesday at the headquarters of the industrial court in Abuja.

The judge held that the compulsory retirement of Mr Suleiman, a Colonel, had no basis, is null and void and of no effect. He said the army has not proved anything that would warrant the dismissal of the claim by Mr Suleiman. Mr Suleiman, like several others, was never queried nor indicted by the army before he was arbitrarily forced out of service. The judge ordered the army to reinstate the officer and pay him all his entitlements up to the date of reinstatement. Before Wednesday’s judgement in Mr Suleiman’s case, the industrial court had previously asked the army to reinstate four other affected officers. Last year, Nwokoro Ijeoma, a major general, and Danladi Hassan, a colonel, separately won their cases against the army. On January 14 and 16 this year, the court also ordered the army to reinstate two other officers, Abdulfatai Mohammed and Thomas Arigbe, both lieutenant colonels. Meanwhile it was previously reported that the army in another development decorated and promoted 35 officers for their gallantry in the fight against Bokoharam insurgency in the North-east.