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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Navy didn�t hand missing ship to Police, says IG
THE drama over the controversial disappearance of the detained bunkering ship, MT African Pride took a shocking dimension yesterday with the Inspector-General (IG) of Police, Tafa Balogun, saying that the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Samuel Afolayan, was not truthful in his testimony that the Police should be held responsible for the missing ship. Indeed, he produced documentary evidence to show that the Nigerian Navy has more explaining to do on the matter.
The CNS, while testifying before the House Committee on Navy on Wednesday in the ongoing public hearing on the missing ship, said that the Navy had handed over the ship in accordance with a presidential directive before it disappeared on August 17.
However, the IG, in his testimony, which lasted about three hours, said only the suspects were handed over to the Police. Tendering documentary evidence to back his point, Balogun said that after the meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo, where he directed that the Police should take over the investigation and prosecution of the case, the Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) in charge of investigation, Ogbonna Onovo, was assigned to liaise` with the Navy to effect the necessary transfer.
The IG further said that after a meeting, the Chief of Naval Operation, Rear Admiral Francis Agbiti, Onovo and his team of investigators were asked to proceed to Lagos to take possession of the suspects but were told by the then Flag Officer, Western Command, Bob-Manuel, that they had not received any signal to that effect and so the investigating team had to return to the Naval Headquarters in Abuja.
According to Balogun, when the signal was raised, there was a clause that only the suspects should be released to the police, but the ships should be left under the custody of the Navy.
Balogun, who also tendered the signal as evidence, further said that of the 22 suspects aboard MT African Pride, only 15 were handed over to the police with the explanation from the Navy that the remaining seven should be left in the ship to maintain it.
Balogun also told the panel that in order to maintain inter-agency relationship, he directed the investigating team to, at any convenient bend, continue to brief naval authorities so as to keep them abreast of development and they did comply. In this regard, he said, the Police legal team on August 4, wrote to the Navy that the prosecution had made some progress and the court officials might come around to inspect the ships and the naval authorities should continue to secure them.
The police boss declared: "The ship declared missing was never in the custody of the Police. At no time was any of the ships taken over by the Police. The Navy was all along in charge of the custody of the ships. Let anybody who says the Police took over the ship produce evidence of handing and taking over of the ships. There is no where in the services such hand-over will be made without documents. I repeat with emphasis that the vessels in question were on the high seas where the Police can not access. The suspects were handed over to the Police in the Naval Base in Lagos.
Balogun added that on August 17, the CNS had told him on phone that he noticed some funny movements, which made him to redeploy the former Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Bob-Manuel. He added that already, the Navy had court-martialled some naval personnel. If those court-martialled were not in charge, Balogun argued, why would the Navy court-martialled them?
Balogun opened another can of worms when he said there had been some clandestine moves to steal seized ships from the shores of the country. He recounted a recent experience where some Ministry of Justice officials in Enugu sent a legal advice to his office asking the Police to release some detained ships and their crew. He told the panel that he did not just object but drew the attention of President Olusegun Obasanjo to the issue.
The police boss further stunned the panel with an affidavit deposed to by one John Ama, counsel to some of the suspects being prosecuted in connection with the case, that some officials of the Russian Embassy visited the MT African Pride in July this year to inspect the ship and they were escorted by Naval personnel.
Balogun, however, said he had swung into action by contacting the International Police (INTERPOL) in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire to assist in tracking the ship if sighted on their waters.
The panel refused to take testimony from the representatives of the Director-General of SSS, insisting that they wanted the Director-General (DG) himself. The representative, Ibrahim Bakut, director of operations, had explained that the DG could not attend because of an important impromptu meeting he had to attend.
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