The Nigerian Army has established a General Court Martial (GCM) for the trial of five officers and 20 soldiers for offences ranging from murder, defilement, manslaughter, extortion and assault on civilians in Enugu State.

The personnel to be tried are within the jurisdiction of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu.

While inaugurating the court martial in Enugu, President of the GCM, Brig.-Gen. Buhari Sadisu, said that the court was convened by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Maj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye.

Sadisu explained that court martial is one of the instruments used in the Armed Forces to maintain discipline.

He said: “In Court Martial, military personnel alleged to have committed offences known to laws applicable to them are tried and if found guilty, punished in accordance to the laws criminalising such offences.

“However, where the prosecution failed to establish the allegations against them, the court will discharge and acquit the accused personnel.

He promised that the court martial would be guided by the principles of natural justice and fair hearing.

“It will also be guided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and other extant laws and procedures related to the trial.”

The president said that the Court Martial would be free from any external influence and would afford the accused personnel adequate time and facility to defend themselves.

According to him, the court martial is fully aware of the cardinal principle of our criminal judicial system that an accused person is presumed innocent until the contrary is proven.

“Under our criminal justice system, it is better for 99 guilty persons to be set free than for one innocent person to be convicted.”

Sadisu assured them that the Court Martial would strive to do justice in their cases by ensuring that evidence presented before the court were judiciously and fairly evaluated.

“This is to avoid a situation where an innocent person is made to suffer unjustly,” he said.

Some regular court lawyers within Enugu also appeared for some of the accused personnel.

NAN

By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

No doubt, we are all familiar with the power behind thought, words, actions and principles. Much as these work in spectacular ways, the ability for one to direct and redirect them can be a game changer.

Whether one works in a public or private establishment, it is important to speak and act courteously because sometimes, it’s not really what one says that matter, but the manner of presentation.

Also, how parents talk to their children is very critical to their mental development, just as how two persons in a relationship talk to each other will affect their union. There’s no gainsaying the fact that words are powerful; they can make or mar a person of situation.

To imagine how powerful words are, consider how the pronouncements of the President of the United States of America can influence the stock market. In the same manner, the words of the President of any country can affect the country. Even the words of the Chief Executive Officer of a company can affect the company.

Uniformed minds are unaware of how potent words can be, so they speak without thinking about the damaging consequences of their words. As a rule of thumb, if your words won’t heal, please keep it. To buttress how damaging words can be, did you know there are certain people that will prefer you “hit” them than speaking to them in a condescending, derogative and denigrating manner.

The reason I had to lay the foundation of this topic on words is to show how our thoughts can affect our words. Isn’t it true that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks?

Redirecting one’s thoughts work perfectly with our words. There’s power in the spoken words. Whenever we speak, the walls hear, the ground stamps, and the air spreads them. It’s one thing to speak the words and it’s another thing to implement and execute the words with the right actions.

In my journey to life, I have come to understand the importance of redirecting one’s perception to life. Sometimes, we look at life from a narrow position instead of from a broad holistic perspective. For instance, if one fails in an examination, instead of apportioning blame to other factors, how about owning up by going to the drawing board to know where they missed it. The same principle is applicable should one fail in business, marriage or health.

Again, spiritual development is very critical to one’s enhancement. A spiritually grounded person will have his thoughts properly channeled when he experiences a setback. For instance, we are taught not to question God when we lose a loved one because He gives life, and He takes life. We are also taught to give thanks to God in all situations. These are practical ways of redirecting one’s thoughts.

If you don’t redirect your thoughts, other people will redirect it for you, but to suit their own principles. In every sphere of life, we are either directing or redirecting our lives because remaining stagnant can be disastrous. According to Alvin Toffler, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”. So, it is important to examine the life one lives, as an “an unexamined life is not worth living”, according to Socrates.

Sometimes, we allow the experiences and challenges we go through life to either affect us or define us instead of changing our outlook and attitude to the experience. Most times, we don’t know we have the power and capacity to change the course of our lives; that we can literally turn our pain into gain, our lack to abundance, and our disadvantaged position to an advantaged position. All this will only work if we are able to redirect our thoughts in the right way.

Did you know that your experiences in life do not influence what you think about? Rather, it is what you think about that creates your experiences in life. Life is just a realization of your thoughts. According to Napoleon Hill in his book “Think and Grow Rich”, “whatsoever the mind can conceive, believe, it can achieve it”.

Furthermore, your lifestyle determines your life star, and your personality creates your personal reality. Therefore, the key to changing your life is through changing your thinking. Changing how you think is like packaging your business or writing a business proposal. If you don’t put the right information with the right words, the recipient might not be able to process your application very well, nor will they give it a positive consideration which it ultimately deserves.

Nobody knows what’s in one’s mind except one begins to act. To x-ray how one can redirect one’s thoughts, try as much as possible to have a positive outlook to life no matter how rough life throws dirt at you because it is what you think that you become. If you start thinking or imagining a red car, I can almost guarantee that you’ll not only begin to see red cars, you will begin to attract red cars, red vans, red trucks and red colors because you have positioned your mind to red. This is simply because our thoughts shape your reality.

On a personal note, I have been able to redirect my thoughts, my words, my actions and more importantly my perceptions to life, and this has greatly helped me profess things differently. I no longer take ‘things’ personally. I see people’s actions through their lens. I hear and interpret people’s words differently based on their understanding; I see the reaction and attitude of people based on what they have been exposed to.

As I conclude this article, I would like to ask; how do you process information? How do you see life? How do you redirect your thoughts when life doesn’t add up for you?

In conclusion, today, I charge you to learn how to put to good use the words of Alvin Toffler, to learn, relearn and unlearn many healthy and unhealthy practices by redirecting and channeling your thoughts and actions to the right side of life.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

By Eric Elezuo

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has debunked reports making the rounds that it has canceled the already taken English Language paper of the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The examination, which has generated a lot of controversy, was written late in the evening as WAEC fought to nip in the bud examination malpractice.

In a statement signed by Head, Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, WAEC insisted that the examination has not been cancelled, stressing that the story in the public space is a handiwork of mischief makers, “who are bent on bringing the Council to disrepute to cause confusion and panic for candidates who sat the examination.”

The Council promised to continue to uphold the standard that has seen it operate seamlessly in the last 73 years of existence.

The statement in full:

RE:2025 ENGLISH EXAMINIATION LANGUAGE CANCELLED

The attention of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, has been drawn to a purported press release by the Council, spreading across various social media platforms.

According to the press release dated Friday, 30th May 2025, “the English Language paper written on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in the ongoing WASSCE for School Candidates, 2025 has been cancelled, and a new date for the conduct of the examination will be announced soon”.

The management of the West African Examinations Council would like to state that the press release being circulated did not emanate from the Council. The said examination has not been cancelled. Although the source of that information cannot be ascertained yet, the Council is certain that the false claim is being peddled by mischief-makers who are bent on bringing the Council to disrepute to cause confusion and panic for candidates who sat the examination.

The Council would like to use this avenue to inform the general public and all stakeholders that pieces of information from the Council are disseminated via our official and verified social media handles, as well as accredited media platforms across the country. In the same vein, all press releases are issued and signed by the Public Affairs Department of the Council on behalf of the Head of National Office.

Once again, we thank all stakeholders for the confidence reposed in us for the seventy-three (73) years of conducting examinations, and we promise to always seek innovative ways to render quality services to the Nigerian child.