Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has been urged to stop the Imo State Police Commissioner from fragrantly disregarding court orders. The appeal is contained in a letter sent to the governor by NOPRIN Foundation, a network on police reform in Nigeria.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has been urged to stop the Imo State Police Commissioner from fragrantly disregarding court orders. The appeal is contained in a letter sent to the governor by NOPRIN Foundation, a network on police reform in Nigeria.
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Police Commissioner Mohammed Abubakar is accused of trespassing and illegally occupying a plot of land on Ikenegbu Layout Owerri in disregard of court judgment and orders.
According to NOPRIN, plot 273 was duly acquired by FCT Kamdikora from one Chief P. C. Muoghalu following a dispute with the Imo State Government which Chief Moghalu won in court. The present police leadership came in, moved into the plot and began construction.
“We appeal to your Excellency to kindly and urgently intervene in this matter with a view to ensuring that the Police in Imo State does not continue to act beyond their powers,” NOPRIN wrote. “The police must not continue to intimidate their citizens or trample on their rights by virtue of their uniform and guns bought with taxpayers’ money.”
Below is the full text of NIPRON’s letter to Governor Rochas Okorocha:
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February 21, 2012
His Excellency,
Owelle Rochas Okorocha
Executive Governor
Imo State
Government House
Owerri,
Imo State
Your Excellency,
APPEAL FOR YOUR URGENT INTERVENTION IN THE MATTER OF TRESSPASS, ILLEGAL OCCUPATION AND ON-GOING CONSTRUCTION WORK ON PLOT 273, IKENEGBU LAYOUT, OWERRI BY IMO STATE POLICE COMMISSIONER, MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR IN DISREGARD OF COURT JUDGMENT AND ORDERS.
NOPRIN Foundation (Network on Police Reform in Nigeria) is a network of 46 civil society organizations spread across Nigeria, and committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights. It was established in 2000 to provide opportunity for civil society input to police reform, and the promotion of safety, security and justice in Nigeria.
NOPRIN Foundation writes to your Excellency to respectfully seek your urgent intervention, as the Chief Security Officer of Imo State, over the unbecoming conduct of the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, Mohammed Abubakar. The CP’s persistent and illegal occupation of Plot 273 Ikenegbu Layout, Owerri in utter disregard to Court judgment and Orders restoring ownership of the said property to its owner is a subversion of the rule of law and therefore, a threatens public order in the State.
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When the Nigeria Police Force- a creation of, and enforcer of the law, wilfully and flagrantly breaks the law, then it is an invitation to self-help and anarchy. This is why we consider it imperative that you kindly and urgently intervene by prevailing on the CP Imo State to respect and comply with the law.
Background.
Sometime in 2011 or thereabout, F. C. T Kamdikora bought a piece or parcel of land known as Plot 273 Ikenegbu Layout, Owerri from one Chief P. C. Muoghalu who challenged the confiscation of his land by the Government of Imo State and obtained judgment in HOW/177/2011 against the Attorney General, Imo State and the Commissioner of Police Imo State amongst other Defendants.
Judgment was duly served on all the Defendants including the office of the CP Imo State and all of them respected the judgment of the Court wherein Chief Muoghalu re-took possession and transferred his interest in the land to Kamdikora.
Unfortunately, the present leadership of the Nigerian Police Force, Imo State Command under Mohammed Abubakar decided to subvert and treat the judgment and orders of the High Court with disrespect and disdain.
Kamdikora duly protested this act of trespass by filing a suit against the Nigerian Police in the above stated suit.
On the 15th day of February 2012, the High Court ordered all the parties in the suit not to tamper with the res i.e. the subject matter of the suit pending when the matter is decided. This order of Court has long been served on the CP through the O/C Legal.
Unfortunately the CP has decided to ignore the orders of a competent superior Court by instructing his men to continue with the construction work in a matter before a superior Court of record.
Despite a letter by Counsel advising the CP to desist from further disobedience of the orders of a competent Court by stopping all construction work on the land pending the outcome of the suit, the CP has continued to ignore the order.
We appeal to your Excellency to kindly and urgently intervene in this matter with a view to ensuring that the Police in Imo State do not continue to act beyond their powers. The police must not continue to intimidate citizens or trample on their rights by virtue of their uniform and guns bought with tax payers’ money.
Yours sincerely,
Okechukwu Nwanguma
Program Coordinator
February 29, 2012
The Inspector General of Police
The Nigeria Police
Force Headquarters
Louis Edet House
Abuja
Dear Inspector General of Police,
PERSISTENT AND UNMITIGATED DISREGARD FOR COURT JUDGMENT AND ORDERS BY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE IMO STATE MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR
NOPRIN Foundation (Network on Police Reform in Nigeria) is a network of 46 civil society organizations spread across Nigeria, and committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights. It was established in 2000 to provide opportunity for civil society input to police reform, and the promotion of safety, security and justice in Nigeria.
NOPRIN Foundation writes respectfully to acknowledge the receipt of, and thank you for, your letter to the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, Mohammed Abubakar dated 16th February, 2010. A copy of the said letter (please, find attached) with Ref. CZ:7050/IGP.SEC./ABJ/VOL 22/449 and signed by ACP MURTALA U. MANI, your Principal Staff Officer 11, was sent to us for our information.
Your said letter was in reply to ours dated 5th February, 2012 by which we drew your attention to the ‘FLAGRANT DISREGARD FOR COURT JUDGEMENT, AFFRONT ON THE RULE OF LAW, ABUSE OF POWER AND THREAT TO PUBLIC ORDER BY M. J. ABUBAKAR, CP IMO’ and by which we then requested you to call the CP to order, in line with your promise to ‘effectively deal with lawlessness... in the NPF.’
Sir, it was our expectation that with your letter to the CP directing him to ‘furnish comments on the issue…’ he would have stopped further construction on the land pending your further directive. But alas, this did not happen.
We do not know if the CP has yet furnished you with any comments and what he may have told you. But we are utterly amazed at the effrontery with which CP Mohammed Abubakar has continued to defy Court judgment and orders with reckless impunity!
Sir, if we were surprised that CP Mohammed Abubakar ordered his men to continue with the illegal construction work going on in the land despite your letter to him, we are even the more shocked that despite a Court Order made on the 15th day of February, 2012 ordering all the parties in the Suit not to tamper with the res i.e. the subject matter of the suit, pending when the matter is decided, the CP has persistently ignored this latest order of a competent superior Court by instructing his men to continue with the construction work in a matter before a Superior Court of record.
Sir, by yet another letter dated 22-2-2012 captioned ‘DISOBEDIENCE TO COURT ORDERS IN RESPECT OF SUIT NO. HOW/745/2011 BETWEEN F. T. C. KAMDIKORA VS IGP & 2 ORS PENDING BEFORE HIGH COURT 8 IMO STATE’, L. M. Alozie Esq., Counsel to Kamdikora had again drawn the attention of the CP to the abovementioned High Court Order which has long been served on him through the O/C Legal, Imo Command.
In the said letter (to which a copy of the Order was attached), Counsel advised the CP to desist from further disobedience of the Orders of a competent Court by stopping all construction work on the land pending the outcome of the suit seeking to enforce the earlier judgment of Court. Unfortunately the CP has continued to ignore the Orders and all entireties to respect the Orders of the court. What impudence!
Sir, we are wondering where the CP derives the temerity to continue to disregard court judgments and orders with such reckless abandon. We are wondering why he believes that he is above the law!
May we repeat sir, that the Nigeria Police Force, as a creation of, and enforcer of the law, must obey the law at all times and is enjoined to do so without reservation! Where the Police are dissatisfied with any court order, they should appeal without delay. It cannot sit in judgment over any matter already decided by a court.
Disobedience to Court judgments and orders is an attack on the rule of law and invariably imperils democracy. Sir, we hereby call on you- for the umpteenth time, to enforce adherence to the rule of law and save our democracy from this present danger.
This is the time to demonstrate your vow to ‘effectively deal with corruption and lawlessness in the Nigerian Police’. Unless you rise to this occasion and make a scapegoat of lawless officers like Mohammed Abubakar who are bent on undermining your efforts to restore sanity in the Nigeria Police Force and launder its battered image, your dreams of a reformed Nigerian Police ‘will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued and never attained’.
We therefore, request you to order CP Mohammed Abubakar to respect the judgment and Orders of the Courts in respect of the subject matter pending before the court. We also call for appropriate disciplinary measures against him for his reckless abuse of power and disregard for the due process.
Yours sincerely,
Okechukwu Nwanguma
Program Coordinator
Background
Sometime in 2011 or thereabout, F. C. T Kamdikora bought a piece or parcel of land known as Plot 273 Ikenegbu Layout, Owerri from one Chief P. C. Muoghalu who challenged the confiscation of his land by the Government of Imo State and obtained judgment in HOW/177/2011 against the Attorney General, Imo State and the Commissioner of Police Imo State amongst other Defendants.
Judgment was duly served on all the Defendants including the office of the CP Imo State and all of them respected the judgment of the Court wherein Chief Muoghalu re-took possession and transferred his interest in the land to Kamdikora.
Unfortunately, the present leadership of the Nigerian Police Force, Imo State Command under Mohammed Abubakar decided to subvert and treat the judgment and orders of the High Court with disrespect and disdain.
Kamdikora duly protested this act of trespass by filing a suit against the Nigerian Police in the above stated suit.
On the 15th day of February 2012, the High Court ordered all the parties in the suit not to tamper with the res i.e. the subject matter of the suit pending when the matter is decided. This order of Court has long been served on the CP through the O/C Legal.
Unfortunately the CP has decided to ignore the orders of a competent superior Court by instructing his men to continue with the construction work in a matter before a superior Court of record.
Despite a letter by Counsel advising the CP to desist from further disobedience of the orders of a competent Court by stopping all construction work on the land pending the outcome of the suit, the CP has continued to ignore the order.
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