The Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos State, Rear Admiral Daniel Ikoli, has allegedly shot himself dead in his residence in the Apa
The Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos State, Rear Admiral Daniel Ikoli, has allegedly shot himself dead in his residence in the Apapa area. It was learnt that a service pistol, expended and live ammunition, were recovered at the scene by police detectives who visited the residence. The navy commander lived with his house boy as his wife stays in Abuja, while his children school abroad.
A member of the presidential committee investigating the $15bn arms deal, he left his office on Tuesday around 1pm, on the grounds that he was ill. Around 5am on Wednesday, the house boy reportedly heard a gunshot from his room. On getting to the spot, he found him dead and raised the alarm. A source close to Okoli disclosed that he had been managing depression and an ailment for some time, adding that it was not impossible that he committed suicide. The source, however, did not disclose the nature of the ailment.
He said, “He was very lively and intelligent. But for some time now, he had been battling an illness and had lost weight. He had also become reserved lately, which was unlike him. He usually complained about the high dollar rate and unavailability of foreign exchange because he had children studying abroad.”
Another source stated that bullets hit Okoli on the chest and he bled to death, adding that three expended bullets were found in his apartment.
He said,“Three bullets were seen in the room. No one can really tell what happened. He was a nice and intelligent officer. He was the one who spearheaded the renovations of BEECROFT when he was the commander.”
A competent source disclosed that 17 rounds of 9mm live ammunition and three expended shells were recovered at the scene. No suicide note was found. His corpse has since been deposited in the Nigeria Navy Reference Hospital and the police have commenced investigation into the case including calling for an autopsy.
He said, “We are investigating the incident to get a clearer picture. Either murder or suicide, we sympathise with the Nigerian Navy as we carry out investigations into the incident.”
Punch
