Navy dismisses, jails three personnel over theft on Tompolo’s property in Delta

The Nigeria Navy Ship, NNS Delta, has dismissed three of its personnel
and sentenced them to five months imprisonment over alleged theft of
equipment belonging to ex-freedom fighter, High Chief Oweizide
Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.

The Commander of the Nigeria Navy Ship, NNS Delta in Warri, Commodore
Ibrahim Dewu disclosed this in a chat with newsmen shortly after
de-kitting the Naval personnel.

The dismissed Naval personnel include: Petty Officer Ekong Samuel,
Leading Seaman Elijah Sagwada and Seaman Usman Shuaibu.

The dismissed Naval personnel were on guard duty where they were
arrested in June this year over alleged theft of properties
confiscated at a Ship Yard in Warri.

The Navy Court Martial has handed the dismissed Naval personnel over
to the Nigerian Prisons Service, Okere, Warri for the continuation of
their jail term.

The Commander NNS Delta, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu said the Nigerian Navy
will not condone acts of indiscipline, neither will it protect any of
its officers or rating found wanting.

He noted that the dismissal and sentencing of the erring personnel was
done in accordance with standard Navy rules, stressing that, they were
not summarily.

Dewu explained that they were given fair hearing, allowed to come with
their counsels and were only dismissed and sentenced after the Court
martial was satisfied that they were guilty.

"Sometimes 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.

"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 de-kit 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 is 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," he said.