A dismissed soldier, Emmanuel Ojo-Giwa, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to order his reinstatement, five years after he was fired from Ordinance Headquarters, Abati Barracks, Ojuelegba, Lagos.
He was given the boot on January 28, 2010 for allegedly using the battery of a generating set in a retired major general’s residence at 19 Ikoyi Crescent to start his vehicle which broke down.
Ojo-Giwa was one of the soldiers who manned the gate of the residence of Y.M. Yaduma before he was dismissed based on the report of an inquiry.
He was about to be promoted to the rank of corporal before he was shown the door, and has appealed to Buhari to save his soul from hunger, as he now begs for a living.
He disclosed that his wife, Efe, divorced him one year after his sack, and “life has not been okay for me since I was dismissed from service.
“I have been going to meet my brothers and sisters to help with my daily needs; they are tired of helping me further.
“I am pleading with Buhari to assist me to go back to my duty post. I wrote a letter to former President Goodluck Jonathan but to no avail.”
Ojo-Giwa, through his lawyer, Yemi Adetoyinbo, had on April 25, 2012 approached a court to seek redress, claiming his dismissal did not follow due process.
Justice Stella Okeke summoned the then Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, to appear before the court over the matter.
Okeke said if Ihejirika failed to appear at the next sitting, the court would listen to the argument of the counsel for Ojo-Giwa and continue with the case.
The judge later retired and the case was handed over to Justice Momoh Sanni.
But the court eventually dismissed it for a lack of merit.
