The Nigerian Navy has shielded two of its personnel who were involved in the stabbing to death of an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abiona Hezekiah, in the Satellite area of Lagos State since December 3, 2022.
It was gathered that the navy had refused to hand over two naval ratings, namely; Seaman Nnamani Anointing, and OSMTD Onyekachi Egwin, to the Nigerian police for prosecution, as confirmed by Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, in a release on Saturday.
Effiong noted that the naval authorities had been playing hide-and-seek with the case and had refused to take appropriate actions against their personnel.
The human rights lawyer in the release titled, “Nigerian Navy should respect the Rule of Law” said, “On December 3, a policeman, ASP Abiona Hezekiah, was reportedly stabbed to death in the Satellite part of Lagos State by two Naval ratings, namely: Seaman Nnamani Anointing, and OSMTD Onyekachi Egwin, during an argument.
“The victim is said to have stopped the Naval ratings who were on a motorcycle when argument ensued. The Lagos State Police Command arrested the two Naval ratings and suspects for investigation and prosecution for the murder of ASP Abiona Hezekiah.
“However, the Nigerian Navy demanded that the officers should be released to them for internal investigation and dismissal from service before they can be prosecuted in the civil court. The police released the two suspects as demanded by the Naval authorities.
“More than 6 (six) months after the suspects were handed over to face a court-martial, the Naval authorities have been playing hide and seek with the case and have refused to take appropriate actions against their personnel. They have also not released them to the police.
“I have spoken with the family of the deceased police officer. They told me that the Nigerian Navy informed them that the Navy cannot take responsibility for the killing of ASP Abiona because the two Naval ratings were not on their uniforms when they committed the crime.
“This is very tragic and unfortunate. I disagree with the posture of the naval authorities on this case. Military personnel are subject to both service law and the civil courts.
“Any action taken by a member of the Armed Forces that is capable of bringing disrepute to the Service, is an offence under the Armed Forces Act. I call on the new Chief of Naval Staff to urgently look into this case and ensure that justice is done. This injustice is unacceptable.
“ASP Abiona Hezekiah was one of the police officers that received a commendation letter from former Governor Ambode with the sum of N250,000 for recovering and returning the sum of N5 million that fell off from a bullion van around Alausa in Ikeja. His family deserves justice.”
NIGERIAN NAVY SHOULD RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW
On December 3, 2022, a policeman, ASP Abiona Hezekiah, was reportedly stabbed to death in the Satellite part of Lagos State by two Naval ratings, namely: Seaman Nnamani Anointing, and OSMTD Onyekachi Egwin, during an argument. pic.twitter.com/kN000uU5zY
— Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) July 1, 2023
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