FG Slammed with Hefty N26m Fine After Army Allegedly Caused Death of 19-year-old Cadet Officer

Nigerian soldiers

 

The ECOWAS Court of Justice has asked the Federal Government to compensate Wing Commander Danladi Angulu Kwasu for the death of his son, according to a report by Punch.

Kwasu’s 19-year-old son, El-Shadai Kwasu died during the watermanship training at the Nigerian Defence Academy, on April 30, 2015.

 

He died by drowning and the court held that there was a failure to provide safety measures during the training or investigate the matter after the death. The court also ordered Nigeria to investigate the matter and punish those responsible.

 

According to the court Nigeria is to pay a compensation fee of 75,000 US dollars to Kwasu. Nigeria has been found to be in breach of the right to life under Art 4 of the African Charter as the death is an unlawful killing and the failure to investigate is also s breach of Art 4.

 

The applicant’s son was forced to carry out watermanship training at a dam in Kaduna in April 2015 even though he could not swim.

 

Safety measures were not provided and after his death, there was no investigation or compensation provided to the family.

 

Channels tv reports that the court in the initial part of its judgement ruled that it did have jurisdiction to entertain the suit as the FRN had argued that the CCJ did not have jurisdiction.

 

In 2015, Danladi Kwasu had accused the authorities of the Nigerian Defence Academy of murdering his son, who was until his death an officer cadet in the Academy.

 

The retired Air Force Officer accused the NDA officials of pushing his 19-year-old son, El-Shadai Kwasu, with academy number NDA/10037, deliberately into a 100 meter-deep lake and drowning him during a training exercise on April 30, 2015.

 

According to him, his son died out of negligence by the Academy’s instructors who took him to the river.

 

He also alleged that about 20 officer cadets had been killed in similar circumstances over the years with the NDA authorities doing nothing to change the situation, although the NDA authorities declined to make an official comment on the allegation.

 

But a letter from the management of the NDA showed that the young man died from cardiopulmonary arrest after he drowned in a river while undergoing a routine watermanship training at Kangimi Dam in Kaduna State.