Alleged Oil Bunkering: EFCC Arraigns Detained Naval Captain After 15 Months

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a naval chief, Captain Dada Labinjo, 15 months in detention without trial.

Labinjo, who has been in the custody of the Nigerian Navy since September 2018, was brought before Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday.

He was arraigned on two counts bordering on alleged oil bunkering.

The senior naval officer had on August 8 secured victory against the Nigerian Navy in a human rights violations case filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Jerry Omoroghe.

Justice Chuka Obiozor who heard the matter and delivered judgement had held that the Nigerian Navy had no rights, both under the 1999 Constitution and the Armed Forces Act to detain him for so long without charging him to court.

The judge had, thereafter, ordered that Labinjo be released from detention unconditionally and his confiscated mobile phone returned to him.

But the order was ignored by the navy, a situation which sparked criticism by civil societies who called for Labinjo’s release.