IGP Gets 3 Months In Prison For Contempt, Says Court
Usman Baba, the inspector general of police, was given a three-month jail term by an Abuja federal high court for defying a court order.
The decision was made on Tuesday by Mobolaji Olajuwon, the presiding judge, in response to a lawsuit brought by Patrick Okoli, a former police officer who claims he was forcibly and illegally retired from the Nigerian police force.
The affidavits used to support the lawsuit state that the applicant (Okoli) was forced to resign in June 1992.
On February 19, 1994, a Bauchi high court issued a ruling in favor of the petitioner and nullified the letter ordering his forced retirement as a result of his legal challenge.
The petitioner must be restored with full rights and benefits, the supreme court said.
In a letter dated October 13, 2004, the Police Service Commission (PSC) instructed the then-IGP to restore the applicant and make a recommendation for promotion in compliance with the court’s ruling.
In order to compel the implementation of the ruling of the Bauchi state high court and the PSC orders, Okoli filed a lawsuit at the Abuja federal high court with the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/637/2009.
On October 21, 2011, the Abuja Federal High Court rendered a decision in the applicant’s favor.
