The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) yesterday joined some groups of Nigerians pleading for clemency for the 12 Nigerian soldiers recently sentenced to death for mutiny-related cases.

General Secretary of the group, Peters Adeyemi, yesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State said the union would want a second look at the cases involving the condemned military officers, citing the need for a total overhauling in the nation's military rather than killing of the soldiers.

Adeyemi, who spoke with reporters at the opening ceremony of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union, however put a caveat on his pleas, saying "they should be pardoned if it would not condone indiscipline in the Nigerian military sector."

He noted that "the skill of an average unionist is to look for more incentives and not to wish that someone be killed. Even though the military has its ways of doing things, we want to implore them to give the issue of these condemned 12 soldiers a second look.

"We all share in this blame because if these men had gotten enough weapons, they would not have defied the order of their superior. Modernity requires that we get the latest weapons at our disposal to defend our territorial integrity."

The NASU scribe, while viewing the nation's military sector with a pitiable sight, said it could not be isolated from the long term rot that has bedevilled all the institutions in Nigeria, especially the power sector.

Canvassing a thorough probe of the finances, weaponry and recruitment in the nation's military, he believed the sudden insurgence in Nigeria sadly exposed the alleged obsolete modus operandi of the Nigerian military operatives.

Nevertheless, he extolled the virtues of the military, saying despite the obsolete weapons at their disposal, the personnel had bravely risen to the challenges of the insurgents, keeping them at bay from making further incursion into the nation's territory.

"We need to ask the following questions and allow the concerned authorities to answer us. Don't we need to probe all the budgetary allocations to the military in the past? Don't we need to look into the recruitment exercise in the military to verify if the personnel being recruited are intelligent enough to handle the modern weapons? Don't we need to boost the morale of these personnel at a time like this?

"The past neglect covers everywhere. Look at the electricity, look at the Police. We learnt that bank robbers are better equipped than the Nigerian police. Again, a state governor once alleged that the insurgents have better weapons than the military. In conclusion, what we should realise is that the Nigerian military is suffering from a long neglect."

Speaking at the event, the National President of NASU, Mrs. Ladi Iliya canvassed a 26 per cent of the national budget for the funding of education in line with the recommendation of the UNESCO.

Iliya expressed her concerns over the Federal Government's alleged apathy to the 90-day moratorium the striking NASU members at Polytechnics and Colleges of Education granted it through the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau.

"It has become necessary to state here that since the suspension of the strikes over 10 weeks ago, the government has not taken any action towards resolving the issues that led to the industrial actions. It is therefore imperative for government to act speedily in order to avert the resumption of the suspended strikes."