The Nigeria Navy, NNS Jubilee in Ikot Abasi has warned against raising storey s directly opposite the base main gate due to security implication.
The Base Operation Officer, Navy Cdr. Morgan Etuk, said this Thursday while speaking with newsmen on the complaint by a church of incessant harassments and disruptions of the church project work opposite the base.
Etuk, while reacting to allegations of disruptions of works said every military establishment the world over must have a buffer zone.
He said when the church workers came to the site Saturday, March 12, one of the officers of the base went and told them of the need for a round table discussion, which they ignored.
He said the base had dialogue with the church leadership for about four times on the need to relocate the structure from opposite the base entrance, but they refused.
“This is a military establishment and for every military establishment all over the world, they must have a buffer zone, a safety zone. So, this military establishment is not an exception.
“However, when they came that Saturday, one of our officers went to them and said they should not continue. That was not the first time they were told not to continue with the work.
“We told them the need to come, so we have a round table discussion because that church, if erected, will become a security threat to this base.
“If you check our security architecture, you will see drums and sentries stationed all over the place. These are some of the things we use to protect this place.
“Coming to erect that structure, which they said is even a storey building, somebody can go there and use it as an observation post to monitor what is happening inside the base.
“As a pastor, you will not tell me categorically that hundred per cent of the members don’t have any criminal tendency of intentions.
“You heard about how criminals go about attacking military zones, killing personnel and carting away weapons, so we have to secure our base.
“We can’t just sit down and allow a structure erected in front of us which we know full well that that might become a security threat to us,” Etuk said.
On the issue that the church workers were beaten, the base operation officer debunked the allegation, saying that naval officers were law abiding citizens and not animals that would start beating people up.
He said the base has no power to give any approval or authorisation for anyone to erect a structure except the Officer of National Security Adviser.
“For now that approval has not been given. So, for now, we can’t allow them go ahead with that job knowing full well that it will be a security threat to us,” he said.
