Media Reports On New Armed Forces Act Bill Wrong – Yar’adua
The sponsor of the new Armed Forces Act Bill currently before the Senate, Senator Abdul’aziz Yar’adua, has expressed sadness over the misrepresentation of the provisions of the Bill by a section of the media.
In a statement on Friday, the Senator who represents Katsina Central Constituency, said contrary to the reports, “the bill does not empower civil courts to try military officers, instead of court martial”.
“This misrepresentation is unfortunate,” he added, explaining that one of the proposed amendments sought to enable military legal officers to represent the Armed Forces in civil courts, “unlike the current practice where civil lawyers unfamiliar with military law handle such cases”.
Senator Yar’adua urged the general public to disregard the report suggesting military personnel will be tried in civil courts, and demanded for immediate retraction of the misleading information.
