Fined £500 for running late, the British soldier held hostage at gunpoint
A BRITISH soldier was fined £500 for returning late to a training base in Nigeria – after being held hostage at gunpoint, a military court heard.
Sergeant Samuel Galloway of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, was allegedly held for several hours with an AK47 rifle pointing at him in the city of Abuja. He was only released once a ransom was paid.
However, the remarkable incident in 2019 was apparently ‘covered-up’ at the time to prevent a major diplomatic incident.
As part of this alleged deceit, Sgt Galloway was fined for returning late to the British training camp because senior officers dismissed his account of being held at gunpoint.
He also claims that an officer from his regiment asked for witness statements to be falsified.
This claim and others have emerged now because Sgt Galloway is appealing the £500 fine and wants his conviction for breaching a curfew at the base overturned.
A summary of the case was heard for the first time earlier this month at Bulford military court in Wiltshire.
At the end of the hearing, a military judge instructed that the case should proceed to trial in September.
Sgt Galloway was on a training mission in Nigeria when the mysterious incident took place. He was off duty at the time and spent the evening of October 5, 2019, socialising with British colleagues in a local bar.
He claims that as he went to leave he became detached from his friends and was grabbed by local men, one of whom was armed, who demanded money.
In an apparent bid to free Sgt Galloway, a man identified as Soldier B, who had been drinking in the same bar, then pulled out a pistol from beneath his clothing and fired a number of shots.
A lawyer for the Army told the judge that while Soldier B had been permitted to carry the weapon the shots had caused ‘chaos’ outside the venue. Soldier B did not provide a witness statement at the time but will now be requested to ahead of Sgt Galloway’s trial.
Sgt Galloway remained in captivity for what he recalls was ‘around three hours’ before British colleagues paid a ransom to free him and he returned to his base, known as ‘Village 2’, at around 04.30.
He was apparently shocked when officers disputed his account and when a major from his regiment allegedly ordered junior troops to submit witness statements which purposely failed to mention Soldier B’s actions.
Sgt Galloway was then fined and, he claims, ordered by the major to sign a confession. He accepted his punishment at the time but is now seeking to clear his name.
A lawyer for the Army added that he could not divulge certain details about the case.