Tony, SaharaReporters found out, was then brought to the base on the orders of Yilme, who oversaw his torture.
Peter Gambo Yilme, Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, Ibaka, Akwa Ibom State, has tortured a man to death for allegedly stealing generators, SaharaReporters has gathered.
Trouble started when on June 13 some portable generator sets were stolen from the Forward Operating Base and a suspect identified as Tony was arrested over the incident.
Tony, SaharaReporters found out, was then brought to the base on the orders of Yilme, who oversaw his torture.
"They tied him up like a goat and beat the boy up mercilessly even after he said he didn't steal the generators. The boy was shouting helplessly, saying he was not a thief.
"Yilme put pepper on his broken skin and locked him up in a cell where he died hours later," a source, who witnessed the dehumanisation of the young man before his eventual death, told SaharaReporters.
"He (Yilme) is not remorseful. To him, it's like he has killed a chicken. This is not the first time he is overseeing the killing of boys in our community," the source added.
Members of the community called on the Nigerian Navy and government to investigate Yilme for the gross human rights violations he commits in the area.