Two men have recounted the horrifying torture they experienced in the hands of naval officials in two unconnected cases. The victims are Mr. Victor Otwgbodor Ndubisi and Mr. Anthony Nwankwo. GBEMISOLA OYEDEPO and SAMUEL TAFA report.
Mr. Victor Otwgbodor Ndubisi is a clearing agent at the Apapa Wharf, Lagos. He said that he was arrested on November 6, 2014, for a crime he didn’t commit. According to him, naval men picked him up and embarked on torturing him when they couldn’t find his elder brother, Tony.
Tony had a business transaction with one Alhaji Ali Kalamo, which didn’t turn out the way Kalamo wanted. Angry, Kalamo invited the naval men. Ndubisi said that he was not only arrested by proxy, but was also tortured with a razor blade.
The naval men allegedly used the razor blade to slash his underfoot repeatedly. He explained that his cries of pains did not stop the men who laughed each time he screamed.
He said that the men took turns in kicking him with their military boots. Ndubisi, who said he was already making plans to sue the Nigerian Navy, had also contacted a human rights organization, Know Your Rights Initiative (KnoRights) to take up legal arms against the Navy on his behalf. Recalling the incident, Ndubisi said that he was picked up at the Apapa Wharf Terminal and dragged to Navy Town, Kirikiri, Lagos State.
His words: “When we got to Navy Town, we met two young men with guns. They asked me to pull-off my clothes. They started beating me. They said they would deal with me until my brother comes.
But Tony didn’t come. One of the naval officers brought out a blade and used it to inflict several cuts under my feet. I started bleeding. “When Kalamo wanted to leave, he brought out wads of naira notes and paid them for torturing me. He said they should continue beating me. They later chained my two legs and asked me to face the sun. When they unchained me, they asked me to start weeding the bushes around their vicinity.
I was there throughout that day. In the night, they ordered me to sleep at a place where they used to keep their guns.” Another victim of the naval men’s turture is Anthony Nwankwo, a commercial motorcyclist who said he was accused of stealing his own motorbike, after the Chairman of Motorbike Riders at Alakija, Lagos impounded it because he refused to buy a ticket for N300.
He too was also dragged to the Navy Barracks, Satellite Town and tortured with electric shocks. They insisted he should confess to stealing his own motorbike. Nwankwo said: “One of the naval officers assaulted me by pouring water on me. They now brought out electric wire and placed it on my body. I felt electric shocks all over my body.
They did this for hours. They said I should confess that I stole my motorbike.” Recounting how he was arrested, Ndubisi said he used to work for his elder brother, Tony, at the Wharf, Apapa. According to him, Tony was supposed to clear two containers for Kalamo, but the business didn’t go as planned. Angry, Kalamo had allegedly contracted some naval personnel, led by one Sub Lieutenant Shehu Ibrahim, attached to Palm Site, Kirikiri Navy Town, to pick Tony and teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget in a hurry.
After frantic and repeated search for Tony, yielded no result, Kalamo and naval men decided to pick Ndubisi, believing that Tony would show up once he heard his brother had been picked. Thus began Ndubisi’s or-deal in the hands of the men. He recalled: “My hands and legs were tied. Anytime, any naval personnel walked past me, they would hit and kick me.”
Ndubisi explained that he had gone to oversee the loading of Kalamo’s second container on November 27 and had alerted Kalamo. Kalamo came, but a few minutes later, Ndubisi noticed a black jeep. He said: “I called Kalamo that I was at the port terminal. He said he was coming to join me. When we concluded, I was about to leave when I saw a black jeep. The Jeep stopped in front of me.
Two men stepped out. They were in mufti. Kalamo pointed at me saying, “that’s the man.” The naval officers accosted me and brought out daggers. Immediately I was pushed into the jeep. They took me straight to Navy Barracks at Kirikiri. When I got there, they started torturing me.” Ndubisi was held there until the following day when another naval officer, a friend of his brother, Tony, came to see how to get him released.
The officer later called Tony and instructed him to involve a lawyer. But the lawyer didn’t come until nightfall. “One of the naval officers asked me to go and take my bath. They also asked me what I was doing there. The offence I had committed,” recalled Ndubisi.
“I explained everything I knew. A naval man called the OC there, immediately called Ibrahim. I heard him saying what Ibrahim did was unlawful.” Ndubisi said that he felt he would soon be freed seeing as two officers had taken interest in freeing him. But to his shock, Ibrahim came and started raining fire and brimstones. “Ibrahim asked me if I thought the officer who instructed him to pick and torture me was a junior officer.
He said the person was a commodore.” Ibrahim later took him to Apapa Police Station. Meanwhile, Tony had alerted KnoRights organisation. The lead activist of the organisation, Comrade Olusegun Adeeko and a lawyer went to the police station. The police were told that Ndubisi collected N270, 000 from Kalamo. But when Adeeko and the lawyer arrived with Tony, there was a new twist to the case.
Tony told the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), that he was the one who had business with Kalamo and collected the money from him, not his brother. Ndubisi noted: “Immediately, the IPO ordered for my release. He said that if he had known I was brought from the naval base, he wouldn’t have signed my detention order. The police then asked Tony to refund the money collected.
An undertaken was written by Tony before I was released on bail.” Ndubisi said he was severely wounded and first went to the hospital. The hospital, however, asked him to bring a police report. He went back to Navy Town Kirikiri, hoping they would give him the report since they caused his bodily harm, but they refused. He said that he was forced to go to his village for proper treatment.
He snarled: “I won’t rest until I get justice! They almost killed me and till date, Ibrahim and Kalamo haven’t asked how I fared.” Narrating his own story and ordeal in the hands of naval men, Nwankwo explained that he was on his daily business of motorbike riding at the Alakija area when an illegal commercial motorbikes tickets seller, Mr. Ismaila accosted him, demanding he should pay N300.
Nwankwo said: “I gave him N250, but the man refused to accept it. I begged him to allow me work for a while, that I would give him later. But Ismaila refused. He impounded my motorbike and took it to the chairman of Motorbike Riders’ Union Mr. Egbe. “I quickly sourced for N50. When I went to them, Ismaila said I must pay N5000 because I didn’t pay when he demanded for the money.
I went home.’’ Nwankwo said he went home and started running from pillar to post, seeking who would lend him money to recover his motorbike. According to him, the motorbike was his only source of livelihood. When he was finally able to raise N2,300, three days later, he jumped for joy and rushed to meet Ismaila and Egbe.
When he got there, however, Ismaila was adamant, insisting on N5000. Nwankwo said: “Ismaila asked me to meet the chairman, but the chairman sent me back to Ismaila. We both went back to the chairman for my motorbike at Akinjo bus stop. On getting there, Egbe came to meet us with five thugs.
They were armed with sticks, machetes and broken bottles. They wanted to attack me. They said I had stolen my motorbike from where it was kept.” He said he was petrified out of his wits and before he knew what was happening, Egbe had called naval men. They took him to their barracks at Satellite Town and embarked on torturing him.
He said that he was later taken to the CBN Estate Two Police Station with the unknown naval officers for his detention. Fortunately, the police officers at the station refused to detain him because of his ill health. “The policemen allowed me to go after I had written a statement. But Egbe took me to another police station. This time, he took me to Agboju Police Station.
He connived with the IPO, one Mr. Niyi to unlawfully detain me for three days before I was granted bail after money was collected from me.’’ KnoRights’ leader, Adeeko waded into the case and petitioned that the matter should be transferred to Area E Police Command. From there, it was transferred to the Police Command, Ikeja. “I got justice. Ismaila and the Motorbike Union were asked to pay me N96, 0000 for my missing motorbike.
We later went back to the naval officers barracks to fish out the naval officers’ who brutalised me. But they were nowhere to be found.’’ Kalamo, who took Ndubisi to naval men, instead of police over his business with Tony, stated his own side of the story. He said: “I had business transaction with Tony, but the delivery was delayed.
Tony demanded for extra money to clear my second container even though I had paid him earlier. The reason I got Ndubisi involved was because he was the person who came to collect the N270 000 as additional payment which was not part of our agreement.” Kalamo continued: “And since Tony didn’t show up, I had to facilitate the arrest of Ndubisi.
It was only after the case had been transferred to Area B Police Command that Tony showed up. After a calculation of the business transaction between Tony and me, everyone saw that he owed me a balance of N3.7 million. But after many pleadings from some people, I accepted that he should pay N1.5 million. But till date, Tony hasn’t paid me a dime! The case is still with the police. They are even now still looking for Tony.”
The phone number of Lieutenant Ibrahim, 09021322353, was repeatedly called on March, 3 and 4, to get his own side of the story, but it was switched off. Adeeko, who spoke furiously against torture, said that he was shocked to discover that Ndubisi was tortured. He also condemned the act of forcing Ndubisi to lie on stones, while one of the naval officers stood on him to the point that the victim started bleeding through the nose.
Adeeko said: “Torture contravenes Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution.” Adeeko added that the case would go to court, stressing that KnoRights would be demanding N15m from Nigerian Navy as compensation for the torture Ndubisi was put through. “This, hopefully, will serve as deterrent to other uniformed men who want to take to torturing civilians.
It was our intervention that led to the release of Nwankwo and Ndubisi. We want to use this medium to call on Naval authorities to curtain the excesses of their men!” Recently, the Chief of Naval Staff, (CNS), Vice- Admiral Usman Jibrin warned his officers and ratings to stop being hostile to civilians, stressing that jail term awaits any personnel who kills a civilian.
His words: “Any personnel, whose action leads to the death of a civilian, would be court-martialed and handed over to the Police for further investigation and prosecution.” This clearly underscores the fact that the Navy is becoming worried over the undisciplined attitude of its men.
It also buttressed raging arguments that they are aware of the unprofessional conduct of ratings and are likely seeking ways to check it. But will the threat from Jubrin do the trick?
New Telegraph
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