* Denies knowledge of Okoli’s matter
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has reportedly sought legal advice on the ruling which sentenced him to three-month imprisonment for contempt of court.
Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, sent the IGP to prison while ruling on a suit filed by a former police officer, Patrick Okoli, who claimed he was unlawfully retired from the Nigeria Police Force in June 1992.
Okoli had since 1994 obtained two court judgments ordering his reinstatement and promotion to a suitable rank.
In his ruling, Olajuwon ordered the payment of N10 million as damages to the ex-officer for the unconstitutional denial of his rights and privileges since his retirement.
However, in a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the force submitted that the IGP did not disregard the court.
Adejobi claimed that the IGP was not aware of any court order as widely reported in the media.
The statement read: “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’s 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 judgment 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.”