Lawyers Petition AGF,IG over Disobedience of Court Orders by Police Intelligence Unit

Wale Igbintade

Two legal practitioners have petitioned the Attorney General of the Federation(AGF), and Minister of Justice and the Inspector General of Police (IG) over brazen disobedience to a valid court order by the officers and men of the Intelligence Response Team Unit (IRT), Nigeria Police Force.

In two separate petitions already served on the AGF and the IG, the Petitioners Samuel C Noah and Ugwemogak Fingesi expressed disgust over the continued detention of Macpherson Olimini, Chime Ezebalike and Prince Lukman Oladele by the Officers attached to the Intelligence Response Team Unit (IRT) in Abuja in flagrant disobedience of Court Order.

They warned that the dignity and honour of the court cannot be maintained if its orders are treated disdainfully and scornfully without due respect.

The petitions tagged “Brazen disobedience to a valid court order: A threat to our constitutional democracy and a call for your urgent intervention”  urged the AGF to compel the Nigeria Police Force to obey court orders.

According to the petitioners, the three men were arrested at different dates and different locations in Rivers State since last year, and subsequently brought and detained at the intelligence Response Team Unit (IRT) Abuja on the 20th December, 2023 and have remained in continued detention since the said date.

The petitioners stated that since the arrest and detention of the three men,  they made elaborate efforts to secure their administrative bail in line with the extant provisions of Sections 30 and 31 of the Administrative of Criminal Justice Act, 7015 but to no avail.

Consequently, the petitioners approached the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and commenced three different suits for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights of their Clients as  guaranteed under Chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As altered).

The petitioners said: “On the hearing, of our Motion dated 27th December, 2023, the Court ordered that our Cents should be granted administrative bail within Forty eight (48) hours of the service of the Order of Court on Nigeria Police in whose custody our clients are kept.