I peddled Indian hemp to save my sick child - Air Force officer

Thursday June 20 appeared like any other day except at the venue of a military court marshal trial in Kaduna, where the fate of a master warrant officer of the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) was about to be decided.

At the venue, Master Warrant Officer Abbas Musa Mohammed (NAF 84/13797) wept profusely as he bent his head down awaiting the punishment that will be handed to him over “illegal possession of 73.4 KG of Indian hemp.”  

He had spent 29 years as a senior Non -Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the Air Force. His troubles began early this year when he left his duty post at the 303 Flying Training School, Kano and was arrested by soldiers from the Army Headquarters taskforce with 13 bags of Indian hemp on the Abuja-Lokoja road.

Mohammed was handed over to officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who later handed him over to the Nigerian Air Force for further investigation and possible prosecution.

After investigations were completed, the Air Force set up a General Court Marshal to prosecute him and during the first hearing at NAF Base, Kaduna on Monday June 17, President of the General of the court, Group Captain Cosmas Ozougwu, announced that the Air Force has resolved to prosecute the officer having completed its investigation.
He noted that the cardinal principle of the Armed Forces Legal System was to be exact, exemplary and swift without compromising legal standards.

“The Nigerian Air Force, having completed its investigation, deemed it fit to prosecute the erring personnel and it is on this note that Air Officer Commanding, Training Command NAF, Air Vice- Marshal Ishaku Umar, convened a General Court Marshal to try the suspected airman in this case,” he said.

During trial in the military court, the accused officer pleaded guilty to the offence but the Prosecuting Counsel, Flying Officer Osamede Ehiwe, went further to bring Assistant Superintendent (Narcotics), Aminu Abdulmalik from Lokoja Command of the NDLEA to tender the certificate of the forensic analysis done on the substance trafficked by the officer before the court.

While presenting the certificate, Abdulmalik told the court that the Indian hemp substance recovered from the accused weighed 73.4kilograms.

He said the 13 bags of substance were confirmed to be Indian hemp by the NDLEA, before Mohammed was later handed over to the Air Force authorities.

“I personally tested the substance and discovered that it was Cannabis Sativa. I later wrapped a sample of the substance and sent it to Lagos for forensic analysis. My lord, the certificate of the forensic analysis, which further confirmed the substance to be Cannabis Sativa, is here sir,” he added.

Defence Counsel to the accused officer, Flying Officer Olayinka Akinfolarin, did not object to the tendered certificate but told the court that, having pleaded guilty, the accused was sober, remorseful and sincerely regrets his action.

She therefore appealed to the court to tamper justice with mercy, considering that the officer is the bread winner of his family which consists of a wife, six children and his aged mother, who is diabetic.

“I am not into any contention whatsoever, I don’t intend to waste the time of the court or the tax payers’ money. However, I shall address this court on mitigation of his punishment in line with the provision of rule 45(3b) of Rules of Procedure 1972.

“Master Warrant Officer Abbas Musa Mohammed is the breadwinner of his family which consists of one wife and six children, two of whom are dead. The eldest child is just 14 years, while his last child is 18 months old.

“His wife is a full housewife and has no means of livelihood, hence his family is totally dependent on him. He is also the only surviving child of his aged mother, a widow who has diabetes and high blood pressure. Thus, he is solely responsible for his mother’s upkeep,” the Defence Counsel stated.

She went further to tell the military court that Mohammed who has served in the Air Force for 29 years without any criminal charge against him was prompted to traffick Indian hemp due to an unknown ailment of his child, which had defied medical treatment.

The Defence Counsel told the court that the search for herbal medication for the child’s ailment took Mohammed to Edo State and due to financial constraint to meet the herbalist’s demand he was prompted to commit the offence.

While passing the judgment, the military court’s president, Group Captain Cosmas Ozougwu, said although the offence committed by Master Warrant Officer Mohammed attracts a minimum jail term of 21 years according to Section 65 of the Air Force Act but due to the passionate appeal tendered by the Defence Counsel and the unblemished 29 years of service of the accused officer in the Nigerian Air Force, the court has resolved to be lenient in its judgment.

The court’s president also stated that considering the Nigerian Air Force’s contribution to war against drug trafficking and abuse, Master Warrant Officer Abbas Musa Mohammed stands dismissed from the service of the Nigerian Air Force.

However, hope is not fully lost in saving the dismissed officer’s job as he still has to await the final approval of the Air Force high command. If they approve the ruling, then the warrant officer’s 29 years in the service will be wasted as he will bow out disgracefully without pension or gratuity.

[Daily Trust]