GRAPHITTI
NEWS collates national and international highlights from late-breaking news,
up-coming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:
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In this photo taken with a mobile phone Tuesday,
Sept. 16. 2014 in Abuja Nigeria. Unidentified military prosecutors sit in the
front row, while soldiers accused of an attack on their commander appear before
a court martial in Abuja. (AP Photo)
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1.
12 NIGERIAN TROOPS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MUTINY
Twelve
soldiers fighting an Islamic insurgency in northeast Nigeria have been
sentenced to death by firing squad for mutiny and attempted murder of their
commanding officer.
In
a decision read early Tuesday by Brig. Gen. Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, the military
tribunal found 12 soldiers guilty and five others innocent. One was sentenced
to 28 days in jail with hard labor.
All
the accused denied the charges. They all appeared to be in their 20s, and
ranged in rank from private to corporal.
The
revolt occurred after a convoy of soldiers was ordered to drive at night on a
road frequently attacked by Boko Haram Islamic extremists. The soldiers
initially refused, saying it was a suicide mission. But they eventually
followed orders and were ambushed on May 13 by insurgents on the road from the
northeast town of Chibok. An unknown number were killed.
The
convicted soldiers are Cpl. David Musa, Cpl. David Robert, Cpl. Jasper Baido,
Cpl. Mohammed Sani, L/Cpl. Friday Onu, L/Cpl. Yusuf Shuaibu, L/Cpl. Emmanuel
Iganmu, L/Cpl. Stephen Clement, Priv. Andrew Gbede, Priv. Nurudeen Ahmed, Priv.
Ifeanyi Anukabe, Priv. Alao Samuel, Priv. Alan Linus, Priv. Namaan Samuel,
Priv. Ichocho Jeremiah, Priv. Sebastine Amah and Priv. Amadi Chukwudi.
One
of the soldiers, Private Ise Ubong, was, however, discharged and acquitted,
having been found innocent of all the charges.
Four
soldiers were also discharged and acquitted while one soldier was sentenced to
28 days imprisonment with hard labour.
The
soldiers were arraigned before the court martial on a six-count charge of
criminal conspiracy to commit mutiny, disobeying lawful orders and various acts
inimical to military service.
The
nine-member all-military court martial also found the soldiers guilty of
insubordination, use of abusive language and levelling of false accusation
against their superior officers, among others.
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In this Dec. 15, 2013 file photo, American actor
Leonardo DiCaprio poses for a portrait, in New York. (Photo by Victoria
Will/Invision/AP, File)
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2.
UN NAMES DICAPRIO A MESSENGER OF PEACE
The
United Nations has named Leonardo DiCaprio a UN Messenger of Peace with a
special focus on climate change.
UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made the announcement Tuesday, calling DiCaprio
"a credible voice in the environmental movement." He also invited the
actor to the upcoming UN Climate Summit planned for September 23.
DiCaprio
said he was honored by the role and that he feels "a moral obligation to
speak out at this key moment in human history" about the threat of climate
change.
Messengers
of Peace are selected from the arts, music, literature and sports. They agree
to help bring attention to UN work. Previous actors named to the honor include
George Clooney, Edward Norton and Charlize Theron.
The
39-year-old "Wolf of Wall Street" star founded an environmental
foundation in 1998.
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