Rear Admiral Ikoli did not commit suicide, he was assassinated- Navy officers say

Naval Officers who worked with the Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Daniel Ikoli, who was found dead at his Apapa, Lagos residence on Wednesday April 5th(Read here), say contrary to reports, the deceased did not kill himself.

According to the officers who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity, Ikoli who has been tipped to become the next Chief of Naval Staff, was assassinated. 

The source said Ikoli who lived alone as his wife lived in Abuja and children live abroad, say there is a mystery surrounding Ikoli's death. 

"At the close of work, he usually allows his aides to go home and stay with their families. In most cases, he will be the one to open the gate of his residence for visitors using a remote control. The officer would not have killed himself. It is pure case of assassination. There is a mystery surrounding his death. For instance, the two ambulances they brought to take him to the mortuary refused to move. It was when they brought his service car and transferred the body into it that they were able to take his corpse to the morgue’’ he said

Another souce who spoke on condition of anonymity said the deceased was a disciplined officer who was loved by many.

“Ikoli was a disciplined, gentle, straightforward and honest man, who had no regard for protocol. It is nothing but a murder case. Ikoli transformed the place by introducing smart I.D. cards and increasing special duty allowance from N4, 000 to N12, 000. Everybody is aware that he was an introvert, but he made sure that things worked properly and he had respect for all and zero tolerance for corruption. He really complimented President Buhari on his anti-corruption war and I think that was why he was appointed to serve on the arms deal probe panel. His elevation as the next Chief of Naval Staff would have been announced if not for the president’s trip to London for medical checkup.’’