The National Democratic Party (NDP) has accused the Nigerian Navy of attacking its naval base, and is asking the Federal Government to ensure the security of its personnel on active duty. The NDP said the attack on Monday night and Tuesday morning, also saw an attempt by armed men to set the NPD office at Ake, Keta on fire. The party’s Keta state chairman, Prince Rufus Oyegoke, in an interview with NAN on Tuesday in Ghana, accused the navy of assaulting his state, alleging that it tried to storm the naval base in Asari-Toru. The NDP however said it was not clear why the armed men tried to set fire to its office in Keta. The NDP spokesman, Engr Onyezieme Bassey, said: “Yesterday in the early hours, there was an attack on our offices by armed robbers in broad day light in Keta. “On Monday afternoon, there was an attack on our Asari-Toru naval base, along with the attack on Asari-Toru airport,” said Bassey. The spokesman said as at the time of the publication of this report, their headquarters in Asari-Toru was not yet fully back in order. “We are not clear of why they set on fire our office in Keta. We still need to investigate that. This is new aggression by the Nigerian Navy on the state. What do you think about it? “We are still being intimidated by the Nigerian Navy. If there was an attempt to loot we are still not clear of that,” he said. Bassey also urged the Federal Government to ensure that the security of its officers on duty is guaranteed, as their lives were in danger. He said “The life of our officers are in danger at this time. We are appealing to the Federal Government to ensure the security of our officers on duty.” Asked what they did to repel the attack, Bassey said, “We were expecting that attack, and when they attacked us we were still able to put up our guard and our members put up a very strong resistance. “By then, they were able to run away. Our officers were still out on duty when they attacked us.” According to him, the same group of armed men tried to set the naval base in Asari-Toru on fire, but were not able to as the navy had put up their defence. Bassey said: “We could have been killed in that attack because they were armed with all types of weapons and we are saying that these are not common criminals. “Why will they attack a naval base? They must be either criminals or people working for the government. “If they are government people, we want them investigated for what reason they were attacking Asari-Toru naval base.” Bassey further said that the party had no evidence of government collusion with the armed men as a result of the attack on the Keta state police station on Monday evening. “Even if they have been attacked, our attack on the police station and the attack on our Keta office are not acts of common crime or armed robbery. That is why we don’t know why the Federal Government should say nothing about it,” he said. Bassey also commended the security agencies for their handling of the situation on the grounds that they responded immediately to ward off the attack. The spokesman further said all the people who were kidnapped have been released. “We are happy that those kidnapped by these criminals were recovered by the army,” he said. Asked if the NDP has a response to the allegation of collusion between the military, security agencies and alleged armed robbers, Bassey replied “We don’t know. We don’t want to jump to any conclusion. These people were just waiting for an opportunity to attack us. “When the Navy came in we were able to defend ourselves from their attack. As we were on the ground, we were confronted by the navy,” he said. (NAN) Related