A federal high court in Abuja has sentenced Usman Baba, the
inspector-general of police, to three months in prison for disobeying a court
order.
Mobolaji Olajuwon, the presiding judge, issued the ruling on
Tuesday, following a suit filed by Patrick Okoli, a former police officer who
claims he was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigerian police
force.
According to the affidavits in support of the suit, the
applicant (Okoli) was forcefully retired in June 1992.
After challenging his forceful retirement, a Bauchi high
court on February 19, 1994, delivered judgment in favour of the applicant and
quashed the letter of compulsory retirement.
The high court also ordered that the applicant be reinstated
with all rights and privileges.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) in a letter dated
October 13, 2004, directed the then-IGP to reinstate the applicant and issue a
recommendation for promotion in accordance with the decision of the court.
Consequently, Okoli instituted a suit marked
FHC/ABJ/CS/637/2009 at the Abuja federal high court seeking an order of
mandamus to compel the enforcement of the order of the Bauchi state high court
and the directives of the PSC.
The Abuja federal high court delivered its judgment in
favour of the applicant on October 21, 2011.
The office of the IGP appealed the federal high court
judgment but the appeal was dismissed.
The applicant took further steps to enforce the order
including approaching the federal house of representatives who then wrote to
the office of the IGP.
After efforts failed, the applicant approached the law firm
of Festus Keyamo, to commence a committal proceeding against the respondent.
THREE MONTHS SENTENCE
TO ‘PURGE’ CONTEMPT
Delivering judgment, Olajuwon held that the IGP should be
committed to prison and detained for a period of three months, or until he
obeys the order.
“It is unfortunate that the chief enforcer of the law is one
who has deliberately refused to comply with the same law. It is important to
state that obedience to orders of court is fundamental to the good order, peace
and stability of a nation,” the judge held.
“It is a duty which every citizen, who believes in peace and
stability of the Nigerian state, owes the nation and the court has a duty to
commit the individual who has failed to carry out the order of the court for
contempt, so as to prevent the authority and administration of law from being
brought to disrespect and to protect the dignity of the court.
“The terms of the
Orders of this Court are clear and unambiguous. This court Is satisfied that
the respondent (presently and those before him) has had proper knowledge of the
Orders of this Court, there is no denial of such knowledge and the receipt of
Forms 48 and 49.
“The respondent filed a counter affidavit, was duly
represented in court by different counsel, who stated how they had written several
legal opinions which were not attended to.
“The refusal and
failure of the respondent to comply with the orders of this court has been
proved in this case. The respondent, in this case, the inspector-general of
police, in the person of Usman Alkali Baba, is to be committed to prison and
detained in custody for a period of three months or until he has obeyed the
order of this court, made on the 21st October, 2011, in all things that are to
be performed, whichever period is shorter.
“If at the end of the three months, the contemnor remains
recalcitrant and still refuses to purge his contempt, he shall be committed for
another period and until he purges his contempt.”
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