Former Deputy Director of Procurement at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Captain Emmanuel Ekpe protested what he described as a forced retirement after accusing former Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Ibok- Ete Ekwe Ibas (retired), of misconduct.
In an open letter to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retired), Ekpe, alias Owen, a decorated naval officer, alleged that naval authorities had denied him a promotion twice for allegedly exposing corruption in the Navy under the former CNS.
The open letter was titled “An Open Letter to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” and made available to our correspondent by his attorney, Pelumi Olajengbesi.
Ekpe said, “Using me as a case study. I have been repeatedly victimized by the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ekwe Ibas for over 20 years and prosecuted by the current Naval Authority in conjunction with the current Defense Minister. After using every option to seek redress within the system, I had no recourse but to write a letter of redress to Mr. President.
“My issue with the former Chief of Naval Staff escalated in 2015 following a case of fraud I reported against him as a former Managing Director of NNS AMBE, which was at the time in Liberia on the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group mission in 1996.
“The former CNS insisted on punishing me for revealing his corrupt behavior. And so, despite the fact that I repeatedly met all the criteria for promotion, myself and so many others saw me refuse a promotion for frivolous reasons.
Ekpe said his international passport data was collected and he was placed on the national security watch list.
Continuing, he said, “Your Excellency, based on the (previous) letter conveyed to you, I have faced open hostilities from certain sectors of the Government and Armed Forces of Nigeria. If not for the intervention of the former Chief of Defense Staff and Chief of Defense Intelligence who believed a breach had been committed, the story would have been different today. One of the many talks was with the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral IE Ibas (retired), initiated by the former Chief of Defense Intelligence. This meeting was held at the former office of the CNS in December 2019, in the presence of 3 of its main staff officers.
“Less than a week after this uneventful meeting, a Navy signal was issued ordering me and 25 other officers to proceed immediately to the Pan-Atlantic University in Abuja for a pre-retirement course. It should be noted that 20 of the officers selected were not due for retirement as they still had time in the Service. I am of the opinion that this action was taken by the naval authorities to conceal the fact that myself and some of the officers selected have been blacklisted by the CNS Sir, it should be noted that this course is intended for officers who have less than 6 months in the Service.
“Furthermore, I was the only one to be relieved of my appointment as Deputy Director of Procurement at the Defense Intelligence Agency in January 2020. I was without an office or appointment until July 9, 2022, when I I was compulsorily retired by Vice-Admiral AZ Gambo and endorsed by the Honorable Minister of Defense despite a reminder to Mr. President and a letter of appeal drafted in accordance with the regulations in force. this as a violation of my basic human rights which manifested itself in the willful denial of my right to a fair trial.
“Some of the allegations raised in the letter include my victimization with relevant documents, the victimization and forced retirement of experienced and qualified operations officers by non-promotion, others include the promotion of fraudulent officers who made the investigated by the EFCC and charged by a court of competent jurisdiction to fly officers who had excelled and continue to excel in various theaters of operations inside and outside Nigeria and the description of these problems have not been addressed. Or is my President and Commander-in-Chief no longer interested in zero tolerance for corruption? I highly doubt that is the case. »
He alleged that senior Christian naval officers are being forcibly retired through non-promotion while their Muslim counterparts rise in rank.
Ekpe urged Buhari to discourage patronage in the navy and for Nigeria’s armed forces to be apolitical. He called for past and present cases of victimization to be reviewed.
His other recommendations include the repeal of the quota system in the military; the repeal of promotion limits for members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, promotion based on merit, and that the retirement age should be 40 years from the date of the Commission, among others.
When contacted, Navy spokesman Suleman Dahun in a phone conversation said, “I’ll give you the number of the person to call.” However, he has not returned as of press time.
