His problem with the former Chief of the Naval Staff escalated in 2015 after he reported a case of fraud against him.
A retired naval officer, Emmanuel Ekpe Owen has written an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari over the victimisation and injustice allegedly going on in the Nigerian Naval Force.
In the letter, the ex-naval chief alleged that he was repeatedly victimised by the former Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ekwe Ibas for more than 20 years and that the present naval authority continued with the victimization in conjunction with the present Minister of Defence.
He said his problem with the former Chief of the Naval Staff escalated in 2015 after he reported a case of fraud against him as the former Executive Officer of NNS AMBE which was at the time in Liberia on the Economic Community of West African States.
The letter reads in part: "Your Excellency, based on the letter forwarded to you I faced open hostilities from certain quarters in the government and the Armed Forces of Nigeria. If not for the intervention of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Defence Intelligence who believed that an infraction had been committed the story would have been different today. One of the numerous interviews held was with the former Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral IE Ibas (rtd) initiated by the immediate past Chief of Defence Intelligence. This meeting was held at the past CNS office in December 2019, in attendance were 3 of his Principal Staff Officers.
"Less than a week after this uneventful meeting, a Navy Signal was released directing that I and 25 other officers immediately proceed to Pan Atlantic University in Abuja on pre-retirement course. It has to be observed that 20 of the selected officers were not due for retirement as they still had time in the Service. I am of the opinion that this action was carried out by the Naval Authorities to shroud the fact that I and some of the selected officers were blacklisted by the CNS. Sir it has to be noted that this course is meant for officers who have less than 6 months in the Service.
"In addition, Sir, I was the only one relieved of my appointment as the Deputy Director Procurement at the Defence Intelligence Agency in January of 2020. I was without an office or appointment until 9th of July 2022 when I was compulsorily retired by Vice Admiral AZ Gambo and endorsed by the Honourable Minister of Defence despite a reminder to Mr President and a letter of appeal written in accordance with existing regulations. Saw this as a breach of my fundamental human rights manifested in the deliberate denial of my right to a fair hearing.
"These aforementioned actions were as a result of my letter of redress to you and in which you directed the current Minister of Defence to conduct a thorough investigation into my allegations and salient points raised to ameliorate the spate of insecurity through terrorism, banditry with a view to de-escalation.
"Some of the allegations raised in the letter include my victimisation with relevant documents, victimisation and forced retirement of experienced and skilled operations officers through non-promotion, others include promotion of fraudulent officers that were investigated by the EFCC and indicted by a competent court of jurisdiction for stealing over officers who had excelled and continue to excel in various theatres of operations within and outside Nigeria and description of these issues have not been addressed. Or is my President and Commander-in-Chief no longer interested in zero tolerance in corruption? I doubt very much that this is the case."
The former Naval Chief explained further that he was the only one relieved of his appointment as the Deputy Director of Procurement at the Defence Intelligence Agency in January of 2020.
"I was without an office or appointment until 9 of July 2022 when I was compulsorily retired by Vice Admiral AZ Gambo and endorsed by the Honourable Minister of Defence despite a reminder to Mr President and a letter of appeal written in accordance with existing regulations. Saw this as a breach of my fundamental human rights manifested in the deliberate denial of my right to a fair hearing," he said.
In 2020, SaharaReporters reported that Captain Emmanuel Ekpe Owen petitioned military authorities over his alleged victimisation by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, after exposing his financial misappropriation and corruption.
Owen had, in a 10-page petition dated December 12, 2019, and addressed to the military authorities, explained how he was locked up in the toilet for six days for exposing shady deals and corruption involving the Chief of Naval Staff.
He continued: "These aforementioned actions where as a result of my letter of redress to you and in which you directed the current Minister of Defence to conduct a thorough investigation into my allegations and salient points raised to ameliorate the spate of insecurity through terrorism, banditry with a view to de-escalation."
He however urged President Buhari to consider the following recommendations to solve the ongoing anomalies among the Naval Staff.
The following recommendations are forwarded for Mr President’s consideration: “Favouritism and the growth of Paper Tigers should be discouraged; The Armed Forces of Nigeria should be apolitical; Review of past and present victimisation cases; Recall of officers and men with field operational experience, set skills and competence back into the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
Other are: “Promotion in the Armed Forces of Nigeria should be based on operational efficiency, competence and performance; Abrogation of quota system in the military; Abrogation of promotion limits for members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria; Retirement age should be 40 years from date of Commission; and Strict adherence to Punishment and Reward systems.”