Channels interview: Retired naval officer not declared wanted, says DHQ

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has denied declaring Kunle Olawunmi, a retired commodore in the Nigerian Navy, wanted over his comments during a recent interview with Channels Television.

Speaking when he featured on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Wednesday, Olawunmi had alleged that some government officials were involved in sponsoring insurgency.

The retired naval officer, who is currently the head of the department of criminology and security studies at Chrisland University, had alleged that some insurgents arrested years ago mentioned the names of some government officials as their supporters.

“You remember this Boko Haram issue started in 2012 and I was in the military intelligence at that time. We arrested those people. My organisation actually conducted interrogation and they (suspects) mentioned names,” he had said.

‘’I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of people that are presently in government that I know that the boys that we arrested mentioned. Some of them are governors now, some of them are in the senate, some of them are in Aso Rock.”

On Saturday morning, there were unconfirmed reports that Olawunmi had been declared wanted by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

But Benjamin Sawyerr, DHQ spokesman, denied the reports.

“There is nothing like that. There is no time that the DIA ordered the arrest of the naval officer. He went on Channels Television and said a lot of things. So, someone in intelligence called him and asked him to come on Tuesday and share his information,” Sawyerr told TheCable.

“The military does not issue warrant of arrest. Only a court can order an arrest. The former officer spent a lot of time at the interview. If they wanted to arrest him, they would have done so. No one invites someone just to arrest them.”

The development comes days after the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) issued a letter of query to Channels Television over a recent interview with Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, concerning the federal government’s decision to review grazing reserves.

According to the NBC, Ortom made “inciting, divisive and unfair comments which were not thoroughly interrogated by the anchors”.