SaharaReporters had reported on September 27, 2023, that the air force detained five officers since 2021 for delivering a lecture at a Christian Association (CAN) event in Kaduna.
The Nigerian Air Force has handed two years’ jail term to another officer, detained since October 13, 2021, in Jos, Plateau State, for delivering a lecture at a Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) event in Kaduna State.
SaharaReporters had reported on September 27, 2023, that the air force detained five officers since 2021 for delivering a lecture at a Christian Association (CAN) event in Kaduna.
It had also been reported that the personnel were arrested and detained since October 13, 2021, over alleged disobedience to the military standing rules.
The detainees had cried out over their unjust incarceration, while lamenting the inhumane treatment meted to them at the detention facilities in both Kaduna and Plateau states, while calling on the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, to intervene in their matter.
However, on September 30, 2023, SaharaReporters reported that one of the detainees had been transferred to the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Jos for two years imprisonment by NAF for the same offence of delivering a lecture at a Christian event.
SaharaReporters reliably gathered on Monday that one of the detainees by name - MWO James Tumba has also received a two-year jail term from court-martial after spending two years and three weeks in a military detention facility in Jos, Plateau State.
A colleague of MWO Tumba who confirmed the two years’ imprisonment to SaharaReporters, said: "Air Force has sent signal today for his two years imprisonment. He is now the second person with MWO Chroma that was sent to prison last month because they taught at a Christian event.
"He is an intelligent officer sent by the air force to collect information from across four states - Jos, Taraba, Adamawa, and Yobe. So how do you expect him to do it if he doesn't get involved? This guy has spent 21 years in service of this country and this is how he is rewarded; not because he has committed any offence," the source regretted.
Meanwhile, one of MWO Tumba’s family members, also noted that the officer was facing religious persecution and not because he had committed any offence. "From what they (NAF) said, the offence committed is that they went to deliver a lecture for CAN Brigade without obtaining any permission from the Air Force.
"They were three and were invited on October 13, 2021, and subsequently detained to date. The lecture he delivered was "Security Liaison and Stress Management" and Tumba stated I thought that is because the Air Force sent him to do undercover intelligence work to four states - Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, and Jos, and he didn't go out of his area of concentration."
"He was given permission and an ID card that said, "I am permitted to enter any place of national interest to collect information". This guy gave the information to the Chief of Air Staff and all the evidence was submitted during the court-martial.
"During the court-martial," the family member said MWO Tumba had queried "how will I get information if I don't involve with people? And the CAN Brigade he was involved in is not hostile people, or doing any hostile activities. The only problem is that he should have come to tell the Air Force that he was going to join the CAN Brigade.
"The confirmation signal came out today. They gave a three-count charge and in the signal, they said the first-count charge had been dropped. The second count charge is to run concurrently two years imprisonment after he had spent 2 years and 3 weeks in detention and now going to spend another 2 years in civil prisons.
"During the court-martial, he was supposed to bring his witnesses. One of the witnesses is the officer that sent him to the operation. In the Nigerian Air Force, they don't send anybody to operation verbally they send it through signal but if an officer sends you, you don't have a right to say you are not going you must go. And because it is an intelligent duty they did not send him any signal.
“And because he put the officer's name that he should come and testify that he sent him and that he has been doing the work, do you know what the court said, they said he has to pay over N250,000 for the officer transportation, his feeding and hotel accommodation as a soldier to come and bear witness. That is how they stopped him from bringing his witnesses.
"Although, he used one officer as a witness and the officer testified that he was around, and didn't go to where they said he went to this is what they came out with, two years imprisonment.”
A very senior officer in the Air Force Headquarters who spoke to SaharaReporters over the incident on Monday night expressed dismay over the entire thing.
The officer who said he had voiced opposition to the jail terms after spending a long time in detention, however, described their case as persecution because they are Christians.
According to the officer, he had told the Chief of Air Staff that those championing their jail had ulterior motives, noting that Tumba was one of the intelligent officers in the field who had brought results.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters' efforts to speak to the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Edward Gabkwet, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to inquiries on the development at the time of filing this report.