I was Dismissed from Navy for Attending My Late Wife’s Burial

This is one of the reason some folks hate joining the military; they can make you lose your sense of life.

A naval officer, Ehimen Benjamin, was dismissed as a result of absence from duty when he came back from his late wife’s burial while his colleague, Emmanuel, was accused of insubordination and dismissed from service. Leadership's OIBOH PETER writes on how both men are now trying to survive with okada riding and car wash business in Abuja.

Ehimen Benjamin with service No X10645 was enlisted into the Nigeria Navy in Port Harcourt in 2006 and was posted to Lagos Naval Base to serve in the waterways. He was accused and dismissed from the service for absence from duty. It all started when he returned from his late wife’s burial.

Benjamin said, “My wife was sick and she was in a bad condition. I took permission from my superior officer to rush her to the hospital for treatment. 

'Unfortunately, she died and I had to take her for burial in Esan West local government area of Edo State where we hail from. Before leaving for the village, I told my divisional officer in my base the situation on ground.

"As soon as I returned from the burial, I reported at my base in Lagos but I was detained and imprisoned for three months for absence from duty after which I was released and dismissed from the Nigeria Navy in 2008."

To him, he did not commit any criminal offence that warrants his sudden dismissal.

Benjamin said, he was just a victim of evil predicaments noting that if he had committed any criminal offence, he couldn’t have had the boldness to make efforts to be restated in the Navy.

“I have made all efforts by going to many lawyers in Abuja to help me so that I could be recalled to service but all efforts have proved abortive.

“Even as I reported to the office after the funeral of my late wife, I was not considered by my boss. Life has not been easy with me since I was dismissed from the Navy. My family members who depended on my salary have also suffered from my predicament. I took permission from my divisional officer before I travelled but I was still dismissed from the service.

“I’m pleading with the incoming government to look into our service records because I know our president-elect is a retired general in the army and if someone is guilty, he would know. I want to return to service because I was illegally dismissed from service by my superior officer without investigating my service records.

“As an okada rider now, it has not been a sweet one for me. I try to work hard to earn a living so that I wouldn’t be tempted to steal from anybody. If not the fear of God, as a trained personnel that was pushed out of service for no reasons, I would have got into crime because of frustration. I had been trained; I have the experience nobody can take that from me but I still believe that God can do something for me. I have been patient about it; I have not rested since I was dismissed from service. I will continue to fight it till I am called back to service,” he stated.