EDO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole‎ yesterday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to grant presidential pardon to the 66 soldiers whose death sentence were recently commuted to 10 years imprisonment by the Army authorities for offences ranging from insubordinate behaviour to mutiny, among others.

The governor stated this while delivering a speech during events to mark this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day where he based his appeal on the strength of the recent revelations regarding the mismanagement of the $2.1 billion funds meant for arms purchase by the last administration.

Oshiomhole, while acknowledging the noble role of the Armed Forces in ensuring peace and the unity of the country, even at the cost of paying the supreme sacrifice, said it would amount to injustice if the soldiers, who were sent to the war front without adequate arms, were made to wallow in prison, while those who diverted the funds were being granted bail by the law courts.

“I am happy that the military has in their wisdom through their own judicial process committed those death sentences to various terms of imprisonment for those soldiers who were involved.

“I am not an apostle or a supporter of indiscipline, but I believe it is also a matter of hypocrisy to tie the legs of a young man or a woman and ask him to go and get involved in an Olympic race. If you chain him, how can he run?”

“So, I appeal to the President to use his powers to grant them pardon, even if they will not be allowed to retain their uniforms.

“We all have learnt to be vigilant and to support our Armed Forces.”