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| Lcpl Jonah Comfort |
Abudu Akinlola Olumayowa, military veteran and Lagos State House of Assembly aspirant 2023 election, has reveal the trajectory and demands justice for the dismissed soldier, 15NA/74/4422F Lcpl Jonah Comfort, who was accused of stealing N35 million jewellery.
Comfort was said to have committed the offence earlier in May. Who is now in police custody with N3 million bail conditions.
Abudu, who investigated the matter in a conversation with journalists on Monday, said:
Army lance corporal Comfort Jonah is undergoing persecution, not prosecution, in the hands of retired General Monday Ali. The truth is, the soldier was once orderly to the General's wife, but that is no longer the case as she left the General about two years ago.
From the information gathered from her friends and relatives, the General is trying to prove a point to his wife, who is suspecting that the soldier dated her husband while she was working with them, as the General was always commenting on her shape and cooking skills even in the presence of his wife.
The truth is that, Comfort Jonah, a female soldier, left the General's wife, Mrs. Japara Ali, who lives in Jos, more than two years ago. It was further gathered from sources close to Comfort that the way and manner in which the General and his wife are doing everything possible to get back at Comfort is unimaginable.
Mr. Sylvester, who works in the General's house, was the actual person who stole the jewelries in question, who later travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, where Comfort Jonah works as a soldier and a tea girl for the 9 Brigade Commander.
Sylvester called and arranged to meet with Comfort, where he pleaded with Comfort to help her get someone who could buy jewelry. Comfort did not know where the jewellery came from, but that could also be a set up by the General and his wife just to get back at Comfort over something that we do not know yet.
Sylvester independently sold the jewellery, which was estimated to weigh about 80 grammes, and naturally gave Comfort some money from the proceeds of the sale.
It was reliably confirmed the charges against Comfort based on Section 103 (1) of the Armed Forces Act, which is CONDUCT IN A MANNER PREJUDICIAL TO GOOD ORDER AND SERVICE DISCIPLINE BY FACILITATING THE SALE OF 89 GRAMMES OF GOLD JEWELLERIES BEING PROPERTY OF MRS JAPARI ALI.
According to the above charge under the Armed Forces Act, the amount of gold stolen by Sylvester should be about 5 million naira.
I also gathered from Comfort's friends and relations that trumped-up charges against Comfort in a certain Court in Jos is in total variance with what she was charged for under the Armed Forces Act, where she was quickly and summarily dismissed from the Army.
Comfort's relative, who was in the open court in Jos, confirmed to me that the offence for which Comfort was charged in Jos is that she directly stole the gold from the General's house in Jos and that the worth of the gold jewellery she is being prosecuted for is in the tune of forty eight million five hundred thousand (#48,500,000).
What we are trying to understand is the reason why Comfort is being prosecuted for two variant offences in two different courts, i.e., the summary trial by the Army Commander and the subsequent civil court charges in Jos, but yet the offence is the same.
I made efforts to speak with Comfort's lawyer, who, in a phone call put across to him, identified himself as Barr P J Abu but declined any form of conversation because he argued that it is against his professional ethics and that any pretrial publicity would be prejudicial to his client's case.
The Nigerian Army should, as a matter of urgency, wade into this case to save Comfort Jonah, who is just a lance corporal, from the hands of a retired General who is by every standard far above Comfort in hierarchy.
Her younger sister, Jennifer Jonah, who was a little learned, additionally said;
First, I need to clarify that the treatment my sister, Comfort Jonah, has been subjected to is unjust and unacceptable. She was a loyal soldier and a kind-hearted person. The circumstances surrounding her case are twisted, and the investigation by the Army seems to be biassed.
Second, the general and his wife have a clear vendetta against Comfort, even though she left their service years ago, the latter to prove a point and the latter to punish my sister for wishful thinking and mere imagination.
My sister, Comfort, has been wrongfully dismissed from the Army and has been languishing in a correctional facility in Jos for a crime she did not commit. Her human rights have been violated, and we need justice for her.
I urge all well-meaning Nigerians to lend their voices to condemn this injustice and join us in our quest for fairness and justice.
No one should be above the law, not even a retired general.
I call on the authorities to investigate this case impartially and hold those who are truly responsible for this crime accountable.
This whole ordeal has been draining and exhausting for our family. We live in constant fear that my sister might be further victimized. Even though we have no doubt of her innocence, the fact that she's already been dismissed from the Army and is serving time in prison gives us little hope for justice.
Comfort is not a criminal, she is a daughter, a sister, and a friend. She's an honest and hardworking person who dedicated her life to serving her country. Yet, she's being punished for a crime she did not commit.
Sadly, my sister's misery doesn't end there. She is unfairly facing double jeopardy; first from the Army authorities, who dismissed her without a fair trial, and now from the magistrate court, which has admitted her to bail but with almost impossible and stringent bail conditions that are clearly designed to keep her in prison. "Where do we get N3 million for bail?" These unfair bail conditions are nothing but a manipulation by the general, who wants to appease his suspicious wife.
This is a blatant abuse of power and a mockery of justice. The court seems to be under the influence of the general, who is pulling all the strings behind the scenes.
My sister has been unjustly accused, punished, and incarcerated, all because a powerful man wants to cover up for his indiscretions and save face in front of his wife. It's despicable and downright cruel.
We are asking the media and the public to shine a light on Comfort's case.