THE hierarchy of the Nigerian Navy has warned against acts of indiscipline among its rank and file.
The warning came after three ratings attached to the Nigerian Navy (NNS DELTA), Warri Delta State, were dismissed from service.
The trio were caught red-handed and found guilty in June for stealing some equipment kept in their care at Mieka Jetty in Warri.
The jetty is part of the controversial property belonging to former Ijaw militant, Mr Government Ekpemupolo.
The names of the three naval culprits are Petty Officer Ekong Samuel, Leading Seaman Elijah Sagwada and Seaman Usman Shuaibu.
Commander, NNS Delta, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu, who paraded the culprits with placards stating their names and crimes, handed them over to the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Okere, Warri.
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They are to spend five months jail term at the Okere prisons after they were reportedly satisfactorily convicted by the Navy Court Martial in Warri.
Commodore Dewu, while briefing journalists after de-kitting the dismissed ratings at the Naval Base on Thursday, assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Navy would not condone acts of discipline amongst his rank and file.
Dewu explained that the dismissal and sentencing of the thieving naval ratings were in accordance with standard extant rules of the Nigerian Navy.
He said that they were not summarily tried, but rather, they were given a fair hearing, with their counsels and were only dismissed and sentenced after the court-martial satisfactorily found them guilty.
“Sometime in June, some of our personnel that were at Mieka Jetty, keeping duty, were caught stealing some of the equipment in that jetty.
“When the report was made to the base and they were arrested, both them and the civilians that were involved.
“A thorough investigation was carried out; a court-martial was recommended after the investigation and this three personnel from NNS Delta were court-martialed.
“What you see this morning is the sentence that was given after the court-martial. We are carrying out the naval procedure for dismissal and we are going to send them to prison after the dismissal.
“They were dismissed first, after which they were de-kitted and now they are going to serve five months jail term in prison.
“So, what we did this morning was to de-kit them and then hand them over to the prison service, to continue their jail term.
“I want to make this statement clear that the Nigerian Navy has never and will never condone any case of indiscipline, especially issues that will bring disrepute to the service.
“We do not cover any of our personnel that is caught involved in such cases.
“That is why today we have dismissed them and then we are handing them over to the prisons to serve their jail term,” Dewu affirmed.
and then