The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NNS BEECROFT

  • Ikoli did not kill himself – Naval officers

    Ikoli did not kill himself – Naval officers

    The late Rear Adm. Daniel Ikoli, the Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command, Lagos, who was found dead at his Apapa residence on April 5, did not kill himself, contrary to some media reports.

    According to authoritative sources at the command, Ikoli may have been assassinated as he had no cause to kill himself.

    “Ikoli has been penciled down by the President as the next Chief of Naval Staff; he recently earned a special promotion to his present rank from Commodore.

    “He was on the panel probing arms deal which also affects the Armed Forces, including the Navy.

    “Ikoli was a disciplined, gentle, straightforward and honest man, who had no regard for protocol. It is nothing but a murder case,’’ a source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

    The source also said that because of his performance as the Commander, NNS Beecroft, he was loved by all officers and the junior ones.

    He said:“Ikoli transformed the place by introducing smart I.D. cards and increasing special duty allowance from N4, 000 to N12, 000.

    “Everybody is aware that he was an introvert, but he made sure that things worked properly and he had respect for all and zero tolerance for corruption.

    “He really complimented President Buhari on his anti-corruption war and I think that was why he was appointed to serve on the arms deal probe panel.

    “His elevation as the next Chief of Naval Staff would have been announced if not for the president’s trip to London for medical checkup.’’

    Another officer, who said he worked with him, also told NAN that the late Ikoli was an easy going man who did not believe in bothering people.

    “At the close of work, he usually allows his aides to go home and stay with their families.

    “In most cases, he will be the one to open the gate of his residence for visitors using a remote control.

    “The officer would not have killed himself; it is pure case of assassination.

    “There is a mystery surrounding his death; for instance, the two ambulances they brought to take him to the mortuary refused to move.

    “It was when they brought his service car and transferred the body into it that they were able to take his corpse to the morgue,’’ he said. (NAN)
     

  • Navy arrests two suspects, vessel for alleged illegality

    Navy arrests two suspects, vessel for alleged illegality

    The Nigerian Navy (NN) Friday handed over two suspects and a vessel, MT REDEEMER to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for lack of proper documentation.

    The suspects were arrested on August 28, last year by naval operatives on suspicion of carrying out illegal activity but at the end of investigation, the NN said nothing incriminating was found on them.

    According to the Commander, NNS BEECROFT, Commordore Abraham Adaji said the suspects, Ale John, 41 and Alex Adeleye, 33, were left onboard the vessel since last year to allow for proper investigation, adding that they were being handed over to NIMASA for further investigation.

    “At the initial stage, it was discovered that the vessel was not containing petroleum products illegally refined as was suspected. But in the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the vessel did not have a valid registration for being in Nigerian waters.

    “This is contrary to the laws of Nigeria and all efforts to get to the owner to complete the registration formalities and to take possession of the vessel had proved abortive. The owner has been evading the navy, instead of bringing the valid documents to be in Nigerian waters, he kept away.

    “In this circumstance, we are left with no choice than to hand it over to the appropriate government agency.

    “The appropriate agency that has the responsibility for proper disposal of the vessel in recognition of their responsibility for port control and marine safety and security is NIMASA and so we have handed over to them,” he said.

    Continuing, Adaji said the vessel constituted serious threat, not only to maritime safety but also to security of the Nigerian Port and the waterways.

    In his remark, NIMASA’s Director of Safety, Femowei Abel, said the agency would do the needful and get to the root of the matter.

    “Wherever we can get the owner of the vessel to compel him to do the necessary documentation, we will do that. We will also carry out the relevant surveys and see whether the vessel is worthy to be registered to operate in Nigerian waters.

    “If the owner refuses to show up, we will be in possession of the vessel and put up a marine notice giving him an ultimatum to appear before NIMASA to take over possession of the vessel and do what is necessary,” he said.

    The suspects, who claimed they were involved in legitimate business, stated that they usually buy petroleum product in Warri and sell in Lagos.

    They claimed that since their arrest, the owner has not contacted them, adding that the Captain, Owolabi who escaped arrest has also not been in touch.

  • Navy intercepts pipeline vandals, recovers stolen petrol

    Navy intercepts pipeline vandals, recovers stolen petrol

    The Nigerian Navy on Friday said it had impounded a wooden boat laden with 27 jerry cans of stolen petrol from suspected pipeline vandals at the Atlas Cove area of Lagos.

    The authorities said that the seizure was made on Thursday night after the vandals abandoned the boat on sighting a naval team and fled into the bush to evade arrest.

    Commodore Abraham Adaji, Commander of NNS BEECROFT, which carried out the operation, told journalists that the navy was determined to rid the country’s waterways of oil thieves and vandals.

    ”We are also in partnership with local authorities that are closest to where these assets are and who are the first to know if anything is going on,” he said.

    Adaji said that the navy was “fully equipped and ready to fight to an end, pipeline vandalism and oil theft’’, adding that the Chief of Naval Staff had zero tolerance for maritime offences.

    He warned perpetrators of illegal acts to seek legitimate means of livelihood.

     

  • Navy arrest six ‘vandals’, destroy hundreds of kegs, illegal refineries

    Navy arrest six ‘vandals’, destroy hundreds of kegs, illegal refineries

    In continuation of its war on pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves, operatives of the Nigerian Navy (NN) yesterday nabbed six suspects in Rivers State.
    This is just as NN personnel attached to the NNS BEECROFT in Lagos raided vandals’ haven around Atlas Cove, seizing hundreds of kegs the fleeing criminals abandoned.
    In an operation led by the Commander, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Abraham Adaji, the naval men, who restrained from shooting the vandals to avoid fire outbreaks, confiscated 21 drums of 250 litres each loaded with stolen Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
    Also seized was a wooden Cotonou boat laden with 245 empty drums measuring 250 litres each and 91 empty Jerry cans measuring 25 litres each, while the suspects jumped into the water to evade arrest.
    Confirming the developments, Director, Naval information, Commodore Chris Ezekobe said the group ran out of luck as the naval team which was on routine surveillance patrol of the area discovered they were loading PMS from the NNPC Single point mooring at Atlas cove.
    He also disclosed that the six suspects nabbed in Rivers were being interrogated, adding that personnel on NNS PATHFINDER picked them up from a large warehouse at Ogbogoro Uzoba waterside around Choba.
    “The suspects who are now undergoing investigation were picked up from a large warehouse located at Ogbogoro Uzoba waterside around Choba in Port Harcourt Rivers State.
    “The raid is in continuation of the Chief of the Naval Staff’s strong resolve to stamp out all forms of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, illegal refineries and other unwholesome activities that have impacted negatively on the security and economic development of Nigeria.
    “The warehouse is suspected to serve as a storage facility for illegally refined products. Also discovered in the facility include three wooden boats containing about 20,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO, 350 drums, several GP and metal tanks ranging from 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 litres storage capacity as well as seven pumping machines.
    “In addition, another Navy patrol team deployed from NNS DELTA discovered and destroyed two illegal refineries in Jones creek in Warri South West local Government Area of Delta State. The items also destroyed in the site include a Cotonou boat laden with about 66,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil, four GP storage tanks measuring 500 litres each. The GP tanks contain 2,000 metric tons of products suspected to be illegally refined AGO.
    “Other items discovered at the site are 50 Jerry cans measuring 50 litres each containing 2.5 MT of products suspected to be illegally refined AGO, pumping machine, large metal tanks and a Cotonou boat,” said Ezekobe.