Mogadishu Barracks, the largest military facility in Nigeria, is one of the popular spots in Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital. At the barracks, many residents of the city cool off every other evening with assorted drinks, roasted fish and chips.

For many visitors, one remarkable feature of the military market is the ease with which soldiers and civilians interact so naturally.

Perhaps, to further promote such friendliness among the uniformed men and their civilian counterparts, the army top brass recently organised a workshop to educate civilians on the operations of the armed forces.

According to Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau, the Chief of Army Staff, the workshop is to also enlighten the soldiers on their rights as provided in the military justice system.

With the army being seen by the civilian populace as an exclusive institution, Dambazzau suggested an integration of the military law into the Nigeria's judicial system.

"We need to do more to ensure that the military law system is fully integrated into the judicial system," he said.

He said that "it is very disheartening" that no Nigerian university offered courses in military law.

"It is disturbing to note that no Nigerian university teaches military law; practitioners of military law only attain their skills through experience," he said.

Dambazzau said that the reaction of the public to some activities of the Nigerian Army, especially in the last one year, had revealed a disconnect between the military justice system and the Nigerian judicial system.

He suggested a balance between justice and discipline for the military to effectively carry out its constitutional roles.

"We must know that in the military, discipline in general and obedience to lawful command in particular, are necessary for its survival.

"It is only in the military that a commander can give his subordinate orders that are hazardous enough to lead to loss of his life.

"Such order may endanger the right to life, but failure to obey them is an offence that is punishment under the military law," he said.

Though Dambazzau did not specifically mention it, some analysts believed that one incident he may be referring to, was the sentence handed down to some27 soldiers, who were said to have protested the non payment of their entitlements while on a peace keeping mission in Liberia.

Many civilians, especially lawyers and human rights groups, had criticised the military action.

The Nigeria Bar Association, for instance, particularly said that the judgment infringed on the soldiers' rights to fair hearing as they had the right to receive their entitlements.

But to avoid such criticisms of military actions, the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Idris Kutigi, had stressed the need for the judiciary and the military to understand their respective roles within the Nigerian legal system.

"There has been a lack of understanding of some issues, especially in the area of the application of human rights principles and enforcement of civil claims in cases involving the armed forces and the public," Kutigi said.

He said that there was indeed, the need for experts to take a special look at issues that border on the rule of law in the armed forces.

Justice Umaru Eri, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), agreed with the observation of the chief justice of the federation.

"I think there is the need for a forum for the exchange of ideas between the army and civilians in justice dispensation," he said. He said that the issue of military law and its application was particularly topical under a democratic dispensation.

But to avoid the constant clashes between the military and civilian laws, Brig.-Gen. Abdulmalik Abubakar, the Legal Adviser to the Nigerian Army, suggested that soldiers must always strive to exhaust military remedies before seeking civilian options.

"There is a particular injunction for soldiers facing disciplinary cases, or seeking redress against the military to always exhaust all military provisions.

"Every soldier knows this and it is also important for the public to know that there is hardly anything done without due process; this is known to every soldier," he said.

According to the legal adviser, soldiers belong to the regimented system of the military and should therefore, obey military laws and orders.

"Once someone volunteers to enlist in the military, it means that he or she has accepted the regimented system that imposed some restrictions on him or her.

"That regimented system is necessary for proficiency and efficiency in fighting for the country. The armed forces cannot effectively defend the nation's territorial integrity and protect its borders without it.

"So, if a soldier has voluntarily accepted to obey military laws and turns round to ask for rights and privileges that are not provided in the military, then he has denied or gone back on his original oath of allegiance," Abubakar said.

Abubakar, however, said that human rights and constitutional provisions that guarantee the right to life are applicable to all including soldiers.

But to minimise civilian interference in military judicial decisions, Justice Bilyamin Adamu of the Kano State High Court, suggested constant workshops and open seminars that would let the general public into the workings of military law.

"People's opinions are based on information available to them; when people know military law, their actions or opinions in that respect will be placed in the proper perspectives," the judge said.

NAN