The House of Representatives Committee on Navy has expressed displeasure over Seaman Haruna Abbass’s dismissal, the Nigerian Navy’s refusal to provide information, and the alleged acquisition of a foreign platform without proper disclosure and due process.
Early this month, the Defence Headquarters announced the dismissal of a naval rating, Seaman Abbas, from service for disobeying orders.
Abbas’s wife, Hussaina Iliya, had gone on a popular radio station in Abuja to accuse the military of unjustly detaining her husband in 2018.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), expressed his misgivings while addressing journalists after a closed-door session with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, and other officers at the Naval headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
Gagdi said the panel visited the Naval headquarters as part of its statutory, constitutional oversight responsibilities, saying every House committee has the constitutional right to come for oversight.
He said: “So we came to interact with the Navy, to ask questions on taxpayers’ money, how money appropriated to the Navy is being spent, how the Navy is judicially using intervention by the excellent president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, how the junior officers and senior officers are being treated by the senior officers of the Navy, including the famous case of Seaman Haruna and how he was suddenly dismissed.
“It is our responsibility, on behalf of the Nigerian people, to ask the Navy questions on these pertinent issues. We have asked them, but we are generally not comfortable with them.
“We have said that we will go to all naval commands and bases to perform a deep-rooted oversight function to know how resources are being used and how the Nigerian people are handling disciplinary matters. So, by the special grace of God, it’s not a new thing.
“And I have to tell you, without any fear of contradiction, the committee is not satisfied, specifically on the Seaman Abass issue”.
Gagdi regretted that the Committee had also written to the Navy to provide some needed information ahead of the visit, which he said was unbecoming of the service, especially considering the importance of the information to the panel before embarking on the visit.
“Beyond that, on the Seaman Abass issue, on non-response to letters written by this committee demanding documents to be delivered, to guide us in our oversight function, and for acquiring foreign platforms without the committee‘s knowledge, and so many other things.
“And we cannot say anything now until we see those projects that have been executed or platforms that have been built. Then we come back with you here and have another interface with them,” he said.
Earlier, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, said the Nigerian Navy was the most challenging arm of the operations of the Nigerian Armed Forces, which Nigerians misunderstood most and needed to be fully aware of its activities.
Ogalla stated that the Navy’s areas of operations cover 290,000 Kilometers, which he said was one-tenth of the nation’s landmass.
He noted that the Navy performs policing functions in the maritime sector and complements Customs, police, and other paramilitary agency operations, which he said became more prominent recently due to the security, economic, and other challenges facing the country.
