By Bukola Olasanmi
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Legal Unit to proffer informed legal advice to him on the ruling of the court for disobedience.
Alkali was on tuesday served three months jail term for contempt of court.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi made this known on Tuesday in a statement released hours after Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon ruled that the IGP be committed to prison and detained in custody for a period of three months.
He stated that the IGP did not disregard court order or the rule of law, as he maintains that “the office is not aware of any Court Order, during the current IGP’s tenure, with respect to a matter making the rounds 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.
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“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 proffer informed legal advice for the IGP’s prompt and necessary action,” the statement reads.
The Force PRO further said that the IGP will continue to uphold the rule of law and synergise with the judiciary to ensure quick dispensation of justice for an improved criminal justice system.
The court order followed a suit filed by Patrick Okoli, a former police officer who claimed he was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigeria Police Force in June 1992 as a Chief Superintendent (CSP).