Rear Admiral Ikoli’s Death: Suicide Or Assassination? 

Only seven months ago, Daniel Teikumo Ikoli was promoted to Rear Admiral in the Nigerian Navy from the rank of a Commodore. Suddenly, the amiable Naval officer is dead. Whilst, the Police has centered its investigations on the suicidal theory; the public and Ikoli’s family haven’t ruled out the conspiracy theory.

It was believed that Admiral Ikoli shot himself dead. Ikoli, who was Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT and later appointed into the presidential committee on the probe of arms deal, was said to have been found in a pool of his blood.

Ikoli’s recent promotion was as a result of his contributions as a member of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement (CADEP), which he joined in 2015 after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.

The brief of the 13-man committee when it was commissioned in August 2015 by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd.), was to investigate the procurement of hardware and ammunitions in the Armed Forces between 2007 and 2015.

Several former service chiefs and other retired and serving senior armed forces personnel were indicted in the committee’s report which led to their demotion and Ikoli confided in some friends that he felt his life was in danger after the committee submitted their third report. Could one or more of the indicted officers have a hand in Ikoli’s mystery death? If Ikoli revealed such fears it definitely means such practices aren’t uncommon in the Nigerian Navy!

Buhari had given special promotions to them in recognition of their high level of dedication, immense commitment and honesty while serving on the committee. Perhaps, if Ikoli and other members of the committee had been compromised, he may still be alive with hope of being promoted sooner or later. Is his death the price for truth?

Ikoli was said to have shot himself in the chest after firing two previous shots that hit the wall and the television set in his house. If Ikoli had shot himself after firing two shots at the television and the wall, it becomes interesting to figure out what offence the television and wall may have committed to warrant the gunshots. Was Ikoli testing the gun on the television or the wall? Was he trying to inform his neighbours that he was about to shoot himself? What was the rationale behind the shootings? Something is strange about the gunshots to the wall and television set unless someone else did the shooting. Ikoli lived upstairs in a one-storey building which is surrounded by storey buildings also, isn’t it possible that he was shot by one or more snipers? Could that be the reason for the gunshots on the wall and television?

Reports say the steward was the only person in the house when the tragic incident occurred but the steward didn’t testify to have seen Ikoli shoot himself. Could the steward have been compromised to snitch on his boss? It is also possible that he honestly didn’t know where the bullets were flying in from as his report only says he took cover only to find Ikoli dead; this doesn’t prove that Ikoli shot himself.

According to sources, the steward boy said he heard the first gunshot the way others did and took cover, prompting him to make phone calls to others to come to his aid. Did he call the Navy who were the first to reach the scene at 6:10am? Or did he call the police who weren’t allowed to enter the vicinity until the Navy concluded their inspection? Has it been established that no other person or group of persons were in that building to do the killing?

MMS Plus visit to Ikoli’s residence at No. 8B Roycroft Street, Apapa GRA, Lagos  revealed that the gatemen for night duty which begins 7pm- 7amwere changed less than two weeks before the incident. Again, the sudden reshuffling of security men few days to Ikoli’s mystery death raises more questions than answers. Why did the previous security officers relinquish their jobs at such a time as this? Could they be the spies or were they forced or cajoled to disclose sensitive information before running away with handsome monetary rewards?

It is still a surprise to the public that the police force is still exploring the suicidal theory even with the seeming trial and error-shooting exercise that allegedly claimed the late Admiral Ikoli’s life. Many observers see this version of story as a diversionary narrative, especially against the background of attempted assassination stories in the Nigerian Navy in recent times. A former Chief of Naval Staff(CNS) had sent a band of assassins after a serving Commodore, now retired. But the Commodore miraculously escaped the plot but he could not make his deserving promotion to the rank of a Rear Admiral under the same CNS.

Speaking to MMS Plus on the incident, one of the new security officers said, “We were recruited on March 22nd and the sad experience happened on April 4th. I have only seen the Admiral walk on foot twice. He always passes the gate in his official car with his escort and the glasses are tinted. We can only see the driver through the windscreen but the Admiral is always at the back. I only saw him once or twice when he came out to stroll. I don’t even know his tribe or if he has a family.”

“The day the incident happened was the second day I was seeing his steward. We lock this gate by 10pm and we open it by 6am because there is a female lawyer that leaves very early. On that day, around 5am the steward boy was patrolling everywhere making calls and immediately we opened the gate for the lawyer, the steward boy went out. In the next few minutes, around 6:10am-6:20am the Navy team sweeps in like an operation. We didn’t know what happened because we don’t have access into the main compound. Nobody can claim to have heard any gunshot because we have about seven or eight generators in this compound and two are plants. If they put on all of them, even if they are fighting war inside we wouldn’t hear. There are three generators on inside as we talk and four at the gate. Two at the gates are big plants. Can you hear anything now outside these generators noise? There was nothing like gunshots. When the Navy came, they didn’t allow the police or army to enter until they finished their investigations.” the gateman told the MMS Plus journalist who visited Ikoli’s residence at 8pm.

After the committee was disbanded in 2016, the late Ikoli had reported to the naval headquarters in Abuja to be debriefed and was redeployed to Lagos.

Before his appointment to the committee, he was the Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft under the Western Naval Command (WNC) in Apapa, Lagos. After his appointment in Abuja, he was redeployed to the WNC but this time as the Fleet Commander.

Although it was impossible to reach his family for comments on what might have led to his suspected suicide, sources said he might have taken his life either due to the alleged assassination threats during his membership of the arms deal committee.

After concluding his job on the committee, the once charming, sociable and outgoing officer, according to naval sources, became a shadow of his former self and it even showed in his physical appearance, as he was said to have lost a lot of weight.

Speaking on the incident, the Flag Officer Commanding, WNC, Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai (WNC), said when Ikoli’s room was opened, he was already dead.

A statement by the command’s Information Officer (CINFO), Lieutenant Commander Chinwe Umar, quoted the FOC as stating that Ikoli’s lifeless body was discovered after gunshots were heard in the vicinity.

He said: “In the early hours of Wednesday April 4, gunshots were heard in the vicinity where Rear Admiral Teikumo Daniel Ikoli resides in Apapa. When his room was opened, he was found dead. The police were invited. The investigation is ongoing. When the situation is clearer, an update will be given.”

Born on October 2, 1965, the 52-year-old was a football fan and an avid supporter of Arsenal Football Club. He was also a dog lover.

He was admitted into Course 33 Class of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) with service number NN1144 and enlisted in the Nigerian Navy on January 4, 1983. He was commissioned on January 4, 1986.

The father of four was made a midshipman on June 25, 1985 and became a sub-lieutenant on January 4, 1987. He later rose to the rank of lieutenant on January 4, 1991.

On January 4, 1996, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander and on January 4, 2001, he became a commander. On January 4, 2006, he was promoted to captain.

On January 4, 2011, he rose to the rank of a commodore where he headed NNS Beecroft and on January 4, 2015, he made the rank of Rear Admiral.

When the Bayelsa indigene joined the navy, he specialized as an Above Weapons Warfare (AWW) officer.

At NNS Beecroft, where he left for the arms deal probe, he will be remembered for the computerized state-of-the-art edifice he set up at the gate, the construction of the modern officers mess and senior ratings mess, as well as the refurbishment of buildings under his base.

Ikoli’s colleagues and junior officers, he was regarded as an officer and gentleman. His family, friends and the entire public need the Police to answer these questions clearly before the suicide theory would be accepted. There are several loopholes in the suicidal reports and the chief is what made Ikoli fire two shots at the wall and television when he should have simply fired his chest (as we are made to believe).

All efforts to get the Navy to reveal further developments on the investigation were futile as at press time. While the MMS Plus reporter was directed to the Naval Base from the Western Navy Command Apapa; Naval Base wouldn’t allow our correspondence gather any information either. Daniel Ikoli, a grandson of the revered Earnest Ikoli may be departed but the nation, his family and friends await clarity on the circumstances that led to his death.