The Nigerian Navy has disclosed the arrest of a civilian lady, and some personnel allegedly linked to the death of a civilian staff of the Ministry of Defence attached to the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, (NNRH), Ojo.
The deceased identified as Mr. Ifeanyi Richard Onumegbu, was on 31st March 2024, found lifeless in his office at NNRH.
Disclosing this in a statement on Thursday, the Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Aiyuwor Adams-Aliu, on behalf of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, said that the Nigerian Navy (NN) is deeply saddened by the demise of Mr. Ifeanyi Richard Onumegbu and the circumstances surrounding his death.
A preliminary investigation, according to the NN spokesperson, revealed that four days earlier, on the 26th March 2024, the deceased was involved in an altercation with a civilian lady and some NN personnel in Navy Town barracks.
Therefore, the statement reiterated, the deceased was “an integral part of the NN family as a civilian staff of the Ministry of Defence attached to the Laboratory Department of the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital (NNRH) Ojo, Lagos since 2009 and he served meritoriously.”
Consequently, “all suspected personnel and the civilian lady involved in the previous altercation were identified and are currently under close custody.
As a result, the remains of the deceased have been moved to a reputable government hospital in Lagos based on the request of the family for an autopsy.
However, the Nigerian Navy has assured his family and the general public that all necessary measures are being taken to unravel the cause of death and any person found culpable would be prosecuted according to extant laws.
It would be recalled that earlier in the week, a lady had in a viral video raised alarm over the death of the civilian staff; Richard Onumegbu, which led to a solidarity peaceful mourning protest at the Ministry of Defence, Abuja by the Joint Executive Council (JEC), Ministry of Defence led by Secretary, Mr. Chibuzo Ibeakanma.
