By Our Reporter
A senior officer of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Dewu, with his four security aides, have inflicted ‘serious’ injuries on a police officer, Suleiman Jazuli and his brother, Barrister Hadi Jazuli.
The two victims sustained various degrees of injuries in their bodies including chest and eyes when Naval personnel used their guns to assault them.
Dewu and the naval operatives physically assaulted the Jazuli brothers for attempting to overtake their convoy.
The incident occurred last Monday at the Galadima Estate entrance gate in Abuja.
Hadi, a legal practitioner while narrating their ordeal to PRNigeria, said he and his brother, Suleiman, were returning to Abuja from Kano with their families, where they had gone for the weekend.
According to him, he was in his car together with his wife and children, while Suleiman drove in another separate car.
He said their ‘problem’ began when he attempted to overtake a convoy of two cars-a SUV and a Toyota Hilux van–which was moving slowly, around the Galadima axis, along the Zuba-Kubwa expressway.
“The two cars were driving at a very low speed. So, I then tried to overtake them. But suddenly, the SUV just swerved to the left and block the road, in an effort to stop me from overtaking them. And because I was very alert, I quickly applied my brake. That was how I was able to avert a fatal accident, in the process.”
Though Hadi was able to reverse and drove into the entrance gate of the housing estate at Galadima, the driver of the Toyota hilux van trailed and blocked his car.
At that point, the Kano State-born lawyer said one of Rear Admiral Dewu’s security details started insulting him.
According to Hadi: “It was at that point that my brother Suleiman, who was watching us from behind, came down to intervene. But suddenly, the four naval men just pounced on him. They kicked, slapped and were continuously beating him. Admiral Dewu, himself, was busy yelling that he would teach us a bitter lesson we will never forget in our lives.
“The attention of police personnel were drawn to the altercation and invited the men to the police station.
“Although Admiral Dewu and his ‘boys’ agreed to go to the police station, they surprisingly zoomed off. So, I and my brother Suleiman were the only ones who followed the policemen to write our statement.”
Barr. Hadi bemoaned the high rate of abuse they were subjected to, pointing out that it visibly traumatized their wives and kids who helplessly watched as the incidence played out.
He revealed that they will both forward their joint petition to the Chief of Naval Staff, urging him to carry out a thorough investigation on the incident.
“We have also instructed our lawyers to also file a civil action against the officer and his boys for the enforcement of our fundamental rights, that was recklessly abused. We urged the police to also follow up the case,” he said.
When contacted, spokesperson of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Suleman Dahun who confirmed the incident as a ‘misunderstanding’ pointed out that it would be resolved administratively.