The 27 former United Nations peacekeepers who were released from prison on Wednesday have vowed to ask the court to force the Nigerian Army to pay their outstanding one month peacekeeping entitlement.
One of the soldiers, Corporal Princewill Owunari, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone after their release in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the ex-UN soldiers were happy about their freedom. He, however, said they were sad some people were still bent on denying them of their rights.
Owunari said, “They just released us this afternoon. We were moved to Kuje Prison last night and we were eventually released today. But most of us are depressed because of the compulsory retirement.
“They are still owing us one month’s entitlement, which is $1000 and they have not given us our UN certificates.
“We may still go to court to ensure that our entitlement is paid. Again, they said that our retirement benefits would be calculated from the date we joined the army to April 27 when we were sentenced. It means the entitlement won’t cover the period we spent in prison. This is not fair and we may have to go to court to fight for our rights.”
The ex-UN soldiers had protested the non-payment of their peacekeeping allowances at the 323 Artillery Regiment Akure on Friday July 4,2008. On account of this, they were tried and jailed by a court martial.
They were sentenced to life imprisonment on April 27, 2009 but this was commuted to a seven-year jail term in August last year. The Army Council revisited the case and granted them full pardon on December 15.
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