The president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, can save lives of the 66 Nigerian soldiers who were sentenced to death for denying to fight Boko Haram insurgents.
Femi Falana, the popular human rights lawyer, told this to BBC reporters.
He said Buhari had promised to review all operations against the insurgents.
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Falana noted that he was now confident the soldiers, who said they needed arms to take on the Boko Haram terrorists, would not be executed and face justice.
The lawyer added the Nigerian government had failed to satisfactorily equip the units fighting the terrorism in the North East.
“They [the soldiers] did not sign to commit suicide but to fight for their fatherland and since the government did not make weapons available, they were unable to fight,” he told journalists.
“The sentences are awaiting confirmation but we are taking steps to ensure that no soldier, no officer in Nigeria is executed on account of the negligence of the Nigerian state in motivating the soldiers to fight and equipping them.”
According to him, the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan “had refused to assist to the request of the convicted soldiers to review their matter“.
“So happily the incoming government of Gen Muhammadu Buhari has promised to review the entire operations in the north-east region and we are confident that the cases of the officers and the soldiers will be reviewed so that justice will be done to them.”
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Falana also was cited to say the courts martial were a “travesty” as they were held in secret and evidence supplied by some of the accused indicated corrupt officials often diverted money meant for salaries and arms.
It worth be mentioning that only from the end of January, with military backing from Chad, Cameroon and Niger, army began to retake territory.
Meanwhile, sporadic attacks and violence have continued.
The group is still keeping many women, girls and children in custody comprising 219 schools girls it abducted from a school in Chibok in April last year.
This week it was disclosed that another 579 soldiers face trial over indiscipline.