Seaman Abbas Haruna, a naval rating locked up in 2018 on the orders of Brigadier General A.S. Adamu, despite the provisions of the Armed Forces Act (2004) limiting punishment for insubordination to two years imprisonment, has been released.
Haruna has also been dismissed from the service of the Nigerian Navy.
Ordinary President Ahmed Isah, the founder of Brekete, a radio and television programme focused on human rights protection, announced this on Friday.
In the Brekete Family Live Programme live-streamed on its YouTube page, Isah said: “I have good and bad news. The good news is, even though they (the military) have not said it officially, Abbas has been released. And according to what I heard, they have dismissed him. The bad news is the dismissal.”
This development came after the news of Haruna’s six-year detention went viral, and the House of Representatives Committee on Navy, Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, vowed to probe the matter.
Days later, the Defence Headquarters said Haruna was never arrested.
However, a video surfaced where the embattled Seaman was seen actively resisting being disarmed by some personnel and several shots were later fired.
His wife, Hussaina Iliyasu, had earlier shared her husband’s plight on Brekete in the hope that her voice would be heard and her concerns addressed.
She said her husband’s troubles began in 2018, following a disagreement during a special operation in Taraba State under Brigadier MS Adamu’s command. After Haruna left the parade ground for prayers, Brigadier Adamu noticed his absence and, upon his return, ordered him to be disarmed, arrested and detained.
The Naval officer and his wife appeared on the Brekete Family programme on Friday, with the wife breaking down in tears as she expressed her gratitude for her husband’s release.
According to Iliya, Abbas has been discharged by the military.
Narrating her ordeal in tears, she said: “I will be with him no matter the situation. They have discharged him. He was ejected from the barracks. I love my husband. I love him.”
When FIJ contacted Nwachukwu Onyema, the army spokesperson, on Friday morning, he told our reporter to reach out to the Navy.
However, the Navy could not be reached, as their email bounced back when a media inquiry was sent to them. A contact form was also filled, but no response has been received at the time of publication.
No official statement was also found on it website and X page regarding the matter.
With additional report from FIJ