The Nigeria Police Force has directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Legal Unit to investigate the allegation which led to the court judgment that sentenced the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to 3 months in prison.
We reported earlier that Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Baba to 3 months in prison for disobeying a court order made in October 2011.
Justice Olajuwon who delivered the judgment said the order followed a suit filed by a former police officer, Patrick Okoli, who claimed that he was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigeria Police Force.
Reacting to the development, in a statement, police Public Relations Officer at the Force Headquarters, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the IGP did not disregard the rule of law, stressing that Baba was not aware of any court order regarding the dismissed officer.
Reacting to the ruling through the Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the cop wondered why he would be committed to prison for a case he didn’t know anything about.
“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to state emphatically that the office of the IGP Usman Alkali Baba did not disregard Court Order or rule of law as the office is not aware of any Court Order, during the current IGP’s tenure, with respect to a matter making the round in the media that the IGP disobeyed a Court Order for the reinstatement of a dismissed officer of the Force.
“It is instructive to note that the case in point concerns an officer who was dismissed as far back as 1992, a few years after the current IGP joined the Nigeria Police Force, based on available facts gleaned from the reports.
“The most recent judgement on the matter was given in 2011 which should ordinarily not fall under the direct purview of the current administration of the Force. Thus, the news is strange and astonishing.
“The IGP, has, however, directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Legal Unit to investigate the allegation in a bid to ascertain the position of the court and profer informed legal advice for the IGP’s prompt and necessary action.
“The Inspector-General of Police reiterates his commitment to upholding the rule of law and synergizing with the judiciary to ensure quick dispensation of justice for an improved criminal justice system,” Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police said.
