A human rights lawyer based in
Abuja, Barrister Ahmed Ajibola Jimoh, has urged the Acting President, Yemi
Osinbajo (SAN) to compel the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris,
to unseal the corporate head office of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN).
The Nigeria Police sealed up the
property since February 28, 2017, despite subsisting court orders.
Jimoh in a petition dated August
13, 2018, specifically wants the Presidency to direct police authorities to
respect the rule of law and obey court orders directing them to vacate the
office located at No. 57, Iya Abubakar Crescent, Abuja.
In the said petition, the
activist informed Professor Osinbajo of the two subsisting judgments of the
Federal High Court, Abuja which ordered police to unseal the office, but was
not obeyed till date.
The petition, entitled: ‘Appeal
to Mr. President to compel Police to respect rule of law on Peace Corps of
Nigeria’, Jimoh intimated the Presidency that, “the Corps as a uniform youth
organization engaging in youth development, nation building, patriotism and
neighborhood watch, has been made to suffer untold hardships by the action of
Police in sealing up the office unlawfully”.
The activist recalled that
Justices Gabriel Kolawole and John Tsoho, have at different times, in their
judgments issued orders to the Police directing them to unseal the office in
the interest of justice and fair play.
Jimoh, however, noted with regret
that Police rather than obeying the court orders chose to remain adamant by
blocking the entrance to the office with a heavy truck and stationed several of
its men to prevent the officers and men of the Corps from accessing the office
as directed by court.
He also informed the Presidency
that the flagrant disobedience to court orders and utter disregard to the rule
of law by the Police, run counter to the tenets of democracy, warning that,
“Police actions are capable of causing anarchy in the country”.
The activist warned that “the use
of naked powers and oppression against the youth in the Peace Corps of Nigeria,
who are being prepared for a bright future”, were capable of spelling doom for
the nation and therefore urged the Presidency to passionately wade into the
matter and order Police to vacate the office.”
Jimoh stated that the attitude of
Police in the matter of Peace Corps was worrisome because the Attorney General
of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, being the
Chief Legal Officer, had twice written the Inspector General of Police on the
need to obey court order in the matter of Corps, but that the two letters were
treated with levity by the Police and continued their deliberate and willful
disobedience to valid court orders.
Besides, the activist also drew
the attention of the Presidency to the order of the House of Representatives
Committee on Public Petitions to Police to vacate the office based on petitions
by the Coalition of Civil Society Organization for Justice and Equity, adding
that till date, the Police have chosen to close their eyes against natural
justice and opted to take laws into their hands.
He, therefore, pleaded with the
Presidency to compel Police to allow the Peace Corps to access their office and
property as ordered in the two court judgments.
The petition, copied the Nigerian
Police Council, AGF, Police Service Commission and the IGP, read in part: “Your
Excellency, with due respect, it is my humble submission that the respect for
the rule of law in a democratic system of government as that of Nigeria is the
very foundation for any democracy and where an agency of government such as
Police has chosen to consistently act in total disregard for court judgments,
then the legitimacy of the government becomes doubtful.
“Also, Your Excellency, it is my
humble submission that where the rule of law is sacrificed for the rule by
whims and caprices, such situation is a war against the supremacy of the
Constitution.
“I also submit that the attitude
and conduct of the Nigerian Police and IGP against Peace Corps, if allowed to
continue, would have much harms on the development of this nation than can be
imagined.
“I humbly appeal to Your
Excellency to compel and (or) order the Nigeria Police Force and the IGP to
obey the judgments of courts in favour of Peace Corps with immediate effect and
to also sanction the IGP, who has unlawfully and illegally continue to violate
and disobey the valid and subsisting court orders without any reason allowed by
law,” he said.
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