Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has responded to the Federal High Court in Abuja’s judgment on Tuesday that sentenced him to three months in prison for disobeying a court order from 2011.
After Patrick Okoli, a police officer who had been forcibly and illegally retired from the Nigerian Police Force, filed a lawsuit, the IGP was sentenced to prison.
In response to the court’s decision, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the force’s public relations officer, stated that the IGP did not flout the court’s ruling or the law because “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.”
The statement read, “The Nigeria Police Force wishes to state emphatically that the office of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc(+),NPM, NEAPS, fdc, CFR, 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.”