The Nigerian Navy on Thursday announced the dismissal of three of its personnel found culpable in the theft of equipments belonging to ex-militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo at Mieka Jetty in Edjeba, Warri, Delta State.
The dismissed naval personnel were arrested in June this year after stealing equipments stored at the jetty where they had been posted for guard duty following the alleged seizure of the property by FG.
Addressing newsmen after the de-kitting of the dismissed ratings at the Warri Naval base of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, the Commander of the NNS Delta, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu gave the names of the dismissed ratings as Petty Officer Ekong Samuel, Leading Seaman Elijah Sagwada and Seaman Usman Shuaibu.
The former ratings were, however, subsequently handed over to the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Okere, Warri, to serve their five months jail term handed down to them by the Navy Court Martial which found them guilty of the crime.
Dewu, while warning officers and men of the Nigerian Navy against indiscipline, he assured the public that the Nigerian Navy would not condone acts that would ridicule its hard earn reputation nor protect any of its personnel found wanting for lawlessness.
Dewu said, “Sometime in June, some of our personnel that were to Mieka Jetty, keeping duty, were caught stealing some of the equipment in that jetty. When the report was made to the base and they were arrested, both them and the civilians that were involved.
“A thorough investigation was carried out, a court martial was recommended after the investigation and these three personnel from NNS Delta were court martialed. What you see this morning is the sentence that was given after the court martial. We are carrying out the naval procedure for a dismissal and we are going to send them to prison after the dismissal.”
He explained that the dismissal and sentencing of the erring personnel was done in accordance to standard navy rules, adding that they were found guilty for the offence for which they court martialed.
“They were dismissed first, after which they were de-kitted and now they are going to serve five months jail term in prison. So what we did this morning was to dekit them and then hand them over to the prison service, to continue their jail term.
“I want to make this statement clear that the Nigerian Navy has never and will never condone any case of indiscipline, especially issues that will bring disrepute to the service. We do not cover any of our personnel that are caught involved in such cases. That is why today we have dismissed them and then we are handing them over the prison to serve their jail term”, Dewu further added.
