Court sentences IGP to three months in prison for contempt

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.”