Day Naval personnel wreaked havoc at marine academy

Posted by admin Armed Forces, Headlines Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Thursday, January 19, 2012

• East Marine Diving Academy administrative block. Inset: Udokwu
PHOTOS: Sun news Publishing

Ordinarily, it would be expected that when officers of the Navy visit a marine academy, the students would be enthralled. And memories of the visit would linger in the hearts of such students for a long time because of the lessons they would have learnt.

But when personnel of the Nigerian Navy from the Naval Base, Odekpe, Onitsha, Anambra State visited the East Marine Diving Academy in Ochuche, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State on December 7, 2011, the outcome was different. The students learnt bitter lessons. Reason?

The visit was not a friendly one. It was learnt that a detachment of the navy stormed the school in a commando style at about 3.00pm on that day and allegedly beat the daylight out of the students and staffers of the school and detained them for two weeks. Those detained were nine cadets as well as four female and four male officials.

The inevitable poser is: what crime did the staff and students of the marine academy commit to deserve the treatment allegedly meted on them by the naval personnel? According to the coordinator of academy, Mr. Okum Agaga, their offence is that they refused to partner with the navy as requested by the commander of the Naval base. He added that the refusal was based on the fact that the two organizations were independent and performed distinct functions.

In a chat with our reporter, Agaga gave an insight into how the school started, maintaining that necessary approvals were obtained from relevant authorities. He said: “The vision for the academy started when we, the Eastern marine officers, had our last meeting in 2009. We agreed that it would be a great achievement if we, the Easterners, pursued a vision of a maritime academy in the South East. After I was appointed as coordinator of the school, we wrote to all the relevant government offices in Anambra State because the state has a suitable site where the maritime industry can be developed in the South East.

The state government, through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Mrs. N. V. Ezeikpe, conveyed approval of the governor for the project. The government of Anambra State also put at our disposal the vacant school buildings at Ogbaru High School, Ogbakuba pending the completion of our permanent site at Ochuche Umuodu. The temporary site comprised six abandoned buildings, which we renovated and turned to administrative block, school hall, hostel, classrooms, library and boys quarters. In fact, we have done a lot of work in the school, gulping a lot of money.

“But to our greatest surprise, on December 7, 2011, I was at a meeting in Imo State when I got a signal from our boys that men of the Nigerian Navy invaded the school and vandalized our property without any reason. They also took the boys to different stations after locking them in Army Barracks. The police at Awka requested for N5 million from us before the House members and state judiciary sent a court order for their release or charge them to court. They spent two weeks in detention.

They were in detention from December 7 till December 21, 2011 when I addressed a press conference at the House of Assembly. I have sent petitions to different authorities, including Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, IGP, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Defence Staff, Senate President, Speaker House of Representatives and Anambra House of Assembly without any response. “I am now asking government why am I being punished like this? Why do they want to kill this vision after we had invested so much money in the school without any assistance from anyone?”

Now, what does the coordinator think made the Navy to invade the school? His Answer: “They had invited me, asked me some questions and I answered them. The last question the commanding officer of the Navy at Idekpe, Ogbaru, Captain Areola, was why I did not partner with them? I told him all about the school, with all the documents from Anambra State government showing that they are aware of the school.

The same documents are with the Nigeria Police, the Army and the State Security Services (SSS). The commander told us that it was a good idea but asked why I did not come to partner with him. I asked him why am I supposed to partner with him, are the boys passing out to become Nigerian Navy personnel or Merchant Navy personnel? He said that they would become Merchant Navy officers and I told him that the school is affiliated to the Nigerian Merchant Navy. Since that time, problem started.

They started harassing me even on the road, calling me names and threatening that if I fail to partner with them they will destroy the school. So, on December 7, 2011, they struck and vandalized the school and injured some staffers and students. We have spent so much money treating those injured. After the holiday, the school is supposed to resume on January 14 but nothing has been done to restore normalcy.”

The school’s logistics officer, Mr. Lawrence Udokwu, who was one of the officials brutalized, arrested and detained, said that the navy men showed no mercy at all. He alleged that even some of the teachers and teachers in-training at Ogbaru High School were not spared as they were also mercilessly beaten. “They were not ready to listen to anybody. They just manhandled us as if we were criminals,” he volunteered.

A petition through their attorney, U.F.O Nnaemeka chambers, dated December 9, 2011 noted that the “East Marine Diving Academy was on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 told by the Nigerian Navy, Onitsha base to send their Rector, four staff and two cadet to their Onitsha office before 6.00pm same day for clarification. But it was a great amazement to discover that at about 3.00pm of same day, boys of the Nigerian Navy, Onitsha base invaded the school and destroyed a lot of things which include all the flags hanging within the school premises.

The entire peak caps packed for all the cadet officers in the regiment office were carted away together with one of the East Marine School buses. A lot of other documents packed in files were destroyed. Four staff were also bundled out of the school premises same day by the navy boys. The officers of the Diving Academy only discovered them two days later in the cell of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, Anambra State”.

The petition, therefore, appealed to the aforementioned “to investigate the matter and bring all the naval officers who are involved in this dastardly act to book before more havoc is caused and the name of the Nigerian Navy dragged to the mud.” The petition added: ”We pray you to caution the Nigeria Navy, Onitsha base to concentrate on their assigned duty and allow the East Marine Diving Academy to function properly as they will resume from Christmas break on January14, 2012.”

When contacted on telephone, the Anambra Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Emeka Chukwuemeka, said he was not aware of the matter.

-Sunwp_posts