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Wednesday 29, September 2004 HOME | back to previous page Naval officers for court martial over missing vessel By Chris Agbambu Deputy Bureau Chief, Abuja   Some top officers of the Navy are likely to appear before a court martial being constituted by the Naval authorities over their alleged negligence which led to the disappearance of the oil vessel, �African Pride�, which had been seized for illegal bunkering. A source said in Abuja on Tuesday that the court martial, to be headed by a rear admiral, is being constituted to try the officers next week. According to him, the probe panel expected to submit its report to Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Samuel Afolayan today indicted them for negligence and for failing to carry out orders. The panel, headed by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Naval Training (NAVTRAC), invited the officers to testify on their various roles that might have led to the disappearance of the ship. It was learnt that the naval director of legal services would begin the drawing up of charges against them. Naval spokesman Navy Captain Senibi Hungiapuko confirmed that the headquarters is awaiting the report of the panel before setting up the court martial. He added that the commanding officer of NN Beecroft, under whose custody �AfricanPride� disappeared, has been ordered by the panel to remain on board (ROB), as he may be needed to clear up ambiguities. M.T. African Pride was arrested on October 8, 2003 by NNS Nwanba while on routine patrol of the nation�s waters and handed over to NNS Beecroft the next day. There was a presidential order for transfer of the arrested vessel and the crew members to the police for investigation, but the police and the navy are today trading blames over the where about of the vessel which has been declared missing. While testifying before the House, Naval Chief Samuel Afolayan said the police should be held responsible for the missing ship. But reacting to the development when he faced the same Committee probing the matter, Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun not only denied knowledge of the where about of the vessel, but challenged the navy to tender proof of police take over of the vessels.   Copyright� 2004. All Rights Reserved. Independent Newspapers Limited Block5, Plot 7D, Wempco Road, Ogba, P.M.B. 21777, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria. www.independentng.com e-mail: [email protected] Designed By Powered By DNet.

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