The last may not have been heard of former Seaman Abbas, the naval rating detained for about six years for an offence he allegedly committed while on a counter terrorism operation in Niger State: the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, has ordered the recall of some retired officers for questioning.
The CNS was said to have ordered the recall of the retired officers after an investigative team set up by the naval chief found some of the retired and serving officers culpable in the matter.
Seaman Abass, who was dismissed from service last Friday, regained his freedom after spending six years in custody at the Defence Headquarters détention facility at Mogadishu cantonment, in Abuja.
The former Navy Seaman’s incarceration came to limelight after his wife, Hussaina Iliya, narrated her ordeal to a popular human rights radio in Abuja, Berekete Family, prompting both the minister of defence and the Chief of Defense Staff to order an investigation into the matter.
The order for the investigation was contained in a statement signed by the director defence information Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, who also promised to make the outcome of the investigation public.
It was gathered that shortly after the minister and the CDS, gave the order, the office at the DHQ, which investigated and set up a General Court Martial to try Abass alongside other erring personnel, presented the outcome of its report to the CDS, who in turn forwarded to the naval headquarters.
It was gathered that upon receiving the report from the DHQ, the Naval authorities discovered a lot of alterations in the same letter sent to the CNS at the time for approval as most of the recommendations by the GCM had been altered.
It was gathered that Seaman Abass’ name was nowhere to be found in the original letter sent to the CNS, which may have resulted in him spending six years in detention without the knowledge of the Naval authorities.
Following the outcome of these revelations, the CNS was said to have vowed to unravel the circumstances surrounding the alterations of the original report from the GCM.
Top naval sources told Daily Sun that following investigations, it was discovered that some of the officers involved in the nefarious acts had retired from the service of the Nigerian navy, while others are still in service.
It was gathered that some of the retired officers found culpable in the matter are expected to report to the naval headquarters in Abuja this week to explain their role in the matter that has caused a huge embarrassment to the armed forces and the NNS in particular.
When contacted on the matter, the Director Navy Information Commodore Adams-Aliu, sent some media links on the reports on Abass for references, and said,
“All details you need are in public domain as shown above.” (Daily Sun).
