A former commanding officer, 343 Air Defence Artillery Regiment, Elele, Rivers State, who was accused of partisanship in the 2015 elections and was later dismissed without query or indictment by any panel, has died.
Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin
An officer of the Nigerian Army, Ojebo Baba-Ochankpa, who is one of the officers controversially dismissed by the military for alleged partisanship in the 2015 general elections has passed away while waiting for justice after he and other affected officers petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to an exclusive report by
Premium Times, the late officer's brother, Paul Ochankpa, revealed that he went to bed hale on Monday but died before dawn on Tuesday in the United Kingdom where he had been since last year, adding that his late brother had not been sick “at all” before his passing.
It was gathered that the deceased who was dismissed without any query, trial or indictment, was in the United Kingdom studying for a Master’s degree at Coventry University “to keep himself busy, while waiting for redress after petitioning the President.”
Ochankpa, forced out of service as a lieutenant colonel, was one of the 38 officers compulsorily retired by the Army Council in June 2015. Although in their compulsory retirement letters, specific reasons for their retirement was not stated; the Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, a brigadier-general, hinted that the officers were fired on the grounds of arms procurement fraud and professional misconduct in the 2015 elections.
The affected officers' petitions were transmitted to the Presidency in July 2016 by the Chief of Defence Staff, and Seven months after, none of the petitioners has received response from President Buhari, leaving their fates hanging in the balance, as Ochankpa died on Tuesday while still awaiting presidential action on his appeal.