26/09/2025
NEWS
Lawyers Protest Navy Tagging Retired Vice Admiral Labinjo ‘Deserter’
Miffed at the “deserter” signal issued by the Nigerian Navy against a retired officer and lawyer, Vice Admiral Dada Olaniyi Labinjo, the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has staged a protest at the Naval Base, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Apapa, Lagos State, South-West Nigeria.
The signal, according to the association, is false, baseless, and contemptuous of a subsisting judgment of the National Industrial Court delivered on March 24, 2025, by Justice I. G. Nweneka in Suit No. NICN/LA/67/2023: Dada Olaniyi Labinjo v. Nigerian Navy & 3 Ors.
Leading the protest, the NBA Lagos Branch Chairman, Mrs. Uchenna Akingbade, recalled that the court held that Labinjo was not absent without leave, meaning he did not desert the Navy.
Mrs. Akingbade pointed out that the court further ruled that, having attained the age of 60, he was deemed retired with effect from April 1, 2017, and should either be reinstated or deemed to have risen to the rank of Vice Admiral from Captain, given his years of service.
She noted that the Navy has appealed the judgment, but rather than wait for due judicial process, on September 3, 2025, the service issued an unlawful signal declaring the NBA member a deserter with effect from December 2, 2019.
“That signal even instructs that he should be apprehended if seen. It is a violation of his fundamental human rights, and he has been in hiding since discovering it,” Akingbade said.
She explained stated that the association’s protest was aimed at compelling the Navy to respect judicial authority and retract the signal.
However, when the NBA delegation attempted to deliver a protest letter, the Commander of the NNS Beecroft, Commodore Paul Mimmyel, declined to receive it.
The proper procedure, according to Commodore Mimmyel, was for the association to direct its petition to the Chief of Naval Staff in Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Mimmyel said that the NBA Lagos Branch should have had a dialogue with the Navy instead of coming in the disguise of a protest.
“If there is a court judgment, I think the issue should be thrashed out,” he said.
He added: “I don’t get where the protest is coming from. We are not quarrelling. Have you written to the Navy before you got to the point of protest, to say you want to come and discuss this issue, and you were not granted an audience? The Navy is a government agency. If you have grievances, you take them to the Chief of Naval Staff.”
When Akingbade responded that this was why they were at Beecroft to deliver the letter, Mimmyel countered that the lawyers came in the disguise of protest.
In his words: ”You came in the disguise of protest. It is not an issue of you versus the Navy. The approach you are using is not necessary. You should have written, and you would have been responded to calmly. There is no need for protest.”
Akingbade, however, disagreed, insisting they had come peacefully.
Mimmyel said: “When you do not agree with a situation, that is a protest. Do you see any of us causing trouble here? We are here peacefully. But why is the Navy using the approach of issuing a signal when the matter is in court?”
Following the insistence of the Navy not to accept the letter, the association vowed to escalate the matter.
Speaking to journalists at the protest, Akingbade said: “We thought we could keep it within Lagos and handle it quietly.
“Since they refused to accept our letter, we will direct it straight to the Chief of Naval Staff in Abuja. If necessary, we will escalate it further. Institutions must learn to obey court judgments.”
Also speaking, the Vice Chairman of the NBA Lagos Branch and Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Mr. James Shunde, described the Navy’s conduct as unacceptable.
“We are here to deliver a letter in protest against the signal issued against our member, which violates his fundamental human rights,” Shunde said.
He added: “The court has given judgment binding on all institutions, yet the Navy has refused to obey. Instead, they issued a signal declaring him a deserter. They could have accepted our letter, whether they respond or not, but they refused. Institutions must respect the courts. The rule of law must be protected.”
Shunde explained that the matter had even reached the Supreme Court, which, according to him, also gave judgment in Labinjo’s favour, stressing that disregard of judgments cannot be tolerated.
“If the Navy refuses again in Abuja, we will escalate until the Presidency hears about it,” he said.
Another member of the NBA Lagos Branch, Mrs. Koyinsola Badejo-Okunsanya, noted that the protest was not only about Labinjo but also about defending the rule of law.
She said: “We are here today to send them a letter, protesting that the matter is subjudice with an appeal pending, and the Navy’s issuance of the signal amounts to disobedience of a valid court judgment and a violation of human rights.
“Declaring a member of ours a deserter despite a valid court judgment is unacceptable. It is Labinjo today; it could be anyone tomorrow.
“The NBA wants to send a clear signal to all who violate fundamental human rights, and to all government agencies that the reason why we are here is to ensure that this does not happen and that every member of society has a right to have their rights defended.
“The NBA will continue to promote and uphold the rule of law as long as the NBA exists.”
• The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.
